Winners, projects, prices of Portugal’s record PV auction

Portugal’s Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) has listed the final results of the country’s first solar energy auction. Overall, 24 utility-scale PV projects with a combined capacity of 1,150 MW were selected through 22 lots in the procurement exercise. Of these projects, nine installations totaling 288 MW were awarded a variable tariff, while the remaining 13 projects, with a combined capacity of 862 MW, were granted a fixed tariff. The action rules allowed developers to opt for these two options.

The record bid of €0.0147/kWh, which some analysts say is too low, was for a 150 MW project submitted by Akuo Renováveis Portugal, a unit of French independent power producer Akuo Energy. The second- and third-lowest winning bids, submitted by U.S.-based asset manager EverStream Capital Management and Power&Sol Energias Renováveis SA, were €0.01637/kWh and €0.0171/kWh, respectively. The highest bid came from Aura Power Developments Portugal, a unit of U.K.-based Aura Power, at €0.03116/kWh. All of these tariffs are for projects that will be awarded a fixed rate.

The entire list of projects and final prices is as follows:

Lot 1 – Iberdrola Renewables Portugal SA, a subsidiary of Spanish energy company Iberdrola, was awarded variable tariff for a 10 MW with a contribution to the electricity system of €0.02164/kWh. Another 10 developers competed in this lot, including French solar company Neoen and EDPR, the renewable energy arm of Portuguese utility EDP.

Lot 2 – Iberdrola Renewables Portugal SA won a 20 MW project with variable tariff and a contribution to the electricity system of €0.00510/kWh. The only competitor in this lot was Frecuente Dimensão, Lda.

Lot 3 – Akuo secured the 150 MW project in this lot by offering the aforementioned record bid of €0.0147/kWh under the fixed tariff regime. It competed with other 12 developers, including Neoen, France’s Voltalia, EDPR, Aura Power, Spain’s Iberdrola and Denmark’s European Energy.

Lot 4 – Lisbon-based Prodigy Orbit Lda. is the winner of 19 MW solar plant with a fixed tariff of €0.0180/kWh. Another 17 developers participated in this lot, including EDF EN Portugal, a unit of French group EDF, Iberdrola, Atlas Renovables Iberia, Portugal-based Hyperion Renewables, Aura Power, EDPR, and Akuo.

Lot 5 – Prodigy Orbit was also the winner of this lot with a 10 MW project and was awarded a fixed tariff of €0.01927/kWh. It had to struggle with 21 other developers, among which there are, among others, Germany’s Enerparc, Jinko Power Spain (a unit of Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar), EDF EN, Iberdrola, EDPR and Aura Power.

Lot 6 – Another lot went to Prodigy Orbit is for a 10 MW project with a fixed tariff of €0.02063/kWh. Competing developers included EDF EN, EDPR, Enerparc, Jinko, and Hyperion.

Lot 7 – Iberdrola won a 29 MW project with a variable tariff and contribution to the electricity system of €0.02411/kWh. It competed against only five developers, including Voltalia and Green Venture.

Lot 8 – Iberdrola secure a second 20 MW facility with a variable tariff and contribution to the electricity system of €0.02033/kWh. It competed with only five developers, including Voltalia and Green Venture.

Lot 9 – Another 10 MW plant with variable tariff was awarded to Iberdrola. Its contribution to the electricity system will be at €0.01145/kWh. The other two developers were Voltalia and Lisbon-based Expoentfokus SA.

Lot 10 – This lot saw five bids, including submissions from Voltalia, Expoentfokus, Jafplus Lda., and Táctica Colossal. But Iberdrola won the 50 MW project with a variable tariff and a contribution of €0.02675/kWh.

Lot 11 – In this lot, Everstream Energy Management Capital won a 50 MW project with a fixed tariff of €0.01637/kWh, while Iberdrola secured a project of the same size with a variable tariff and a contribution to the system of €0.02675/kWh. The other three developers in the lot were Power&Sol, Green Ventures, and Energias Renovables Cercont.

Lot 13 (No lot 12 was included in the list) – Expoentfokus was the winner of a 29 MW solar park with a variable tariff and a contribution to the system of €0.00886/kWh. The other three competitors in the lot were Jinko, DST Solar and Táctica Colossal.

Lot 14 – Another project won by Prodigy Orbit, which offered a fixed tariff of €0.02216/kWh for a 10 MW plant. The other six bidders included Enerland 2007 Fovoltaica, Goldaqueva SA, and Bússola Vanguarda.

Lot 15 – Akuo was also the winner of this lot, with a 150 MW project with a fixed tariff of €0.01978/kWh. European Energy, EDPR and Hyperion were among the losing bidders.

Lot 16 – This is the third lot that was awarded to Akuo, which offered a fixed tariff of €0.02073/kWh for a 120 MW solar plant. The other three companies were Power&Sol, Bioeléctrica da Foz and Cometa Decimal.

Lot 18 (No lot 17 was included in the list) – In this lot, Aura Power was granted a 150 MW scheme with a fixed tariff of €0.02346/kWh), while Neoen secured a 50 MW project planned to sell power at a fixed rate of €0.02347/kWh. They had to compete with other five bidders such as Akuo, Hyperion, Everstream Energy Capital Management, New Finerge and Bioeléctrica da Foz.

Lot 19 – German developer Enerparc was the winner of the 18 MW solar park, with a fixed tariff of €0.02930/kWh. The other bidders included Akuo and Enerland 2007.

Lot 20 – Aura Power won an 18 MW project with a fixed price of €0.03116/kWh. Akuo and Expoentfokus were among the other four bidders.

Lot 21 – Spain-based Enerland 2007 and Portuguese company Made Better, Lda were awarded 15 MW and 13 MW projects, respectively. The first will get a fixed tariff of €0.02657/kWh, while the second was granted a similar rate at €0.02390/kWh. The other six competitors included Jinko, Green Venture and Akuo.

Lot 22 – Lisbon-based Days of Luck, Unipessoal, Lda., was the winner of a 110 MW plant with a variable tariff and a contribution to the system of €0.02546/kWh. The other developers included Jinko, Neoen, Greenalia Power Portugal, EDPR and Ibedrola.

Lot 23 – Power&Sol was able to win a 100 MW project with a fixed tariff of €0.01719/kWh. It competed against 20 companies, including Jinko, Neoen, Voltalia, EDPR, Spain’s Grupo Gransolar, Akuo, Prodigy Orbit, European Energy and Iberdrola.

Lot 24 – The final lot went to Prosolia Portugal, Lda, a unit of Spanish developer Prosolia. It was awarded a 29 MW plant with a fixed price of €0.02938/kWh. The losing bidders included Enerland 2007, EDPR and Aura Power.