Zero solar allocated in unsuccessful 3.3 GW renewables auction in Spain

Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) has concluded the country's fourth auction for large-scale wind and solar energy projects.

The procurement concluded with an allocated capacity of only 45.5 MW, which was assigned to on-shore wind power

The Spanish government expected to allocate 1.8 GW of solar and 1.5 GW of wind power in the 3.3 GW procurement exercise. PV projects were to be given 12-year power purchase agreements (PPAs), and were to have been built within two years.

“The contracted capacity has been distributed between two successful bidders at a weighted average price of €42.78/MWh, with a maximum of €45.12/MWh and a minimum of €39.88/MWh,” Miteco said in a statement. “The auction, held in compliance with the scheduled calendar until 2026, has taken place in a scenario marked by the war in Ukraine, which has had an influence on the bids and the results.”

In the first two auctions, held in January and October 2021, Miteco assigned 2.90 GW of solar and 3.25 GW of wind capacity. The second auction awarded a total of 3.12 GW, or 95% of the 3.3 GW on offer. About 2.258 GW went to wind projects, and 866 MW to solar, at an average price of €30.56 ($31.07)/MWh. The auction marked the first time in history in which solar did not cover all of the offered capacity.

Through the third auction, held in October, the Spanish authorities allocated 177 MW, of which only 31 MW to distributed solar PV, and the remaining to biomass. The auction aimed to contract 140 MW of distributed solar power, for installations of less than 5 MW with at least three local partners. The remaining 380 MW were allocated to other renewable sources, 220 MW of which were reserved for solar thermoelectric, 140 MW for biomass and 20 MW for other technologies.