Average final price in Germany’s solar tenders falls to €0.0547/kWh

From pv magazine Germany

Germany’s Federal Network Agency – the Bundesnetzagentur – has revealed the average final price for solar power again fell in the third technology-specific tender for PV held last year.

The agency said 105 bids for more than 556 MW of capacity were submitted for this month’s tender in June. Ultimately, 14 bids with a total capacity of 204 MW were selected – 70 MW more capacity than the 150 MW target set by the authorities.

The successful bids ranged from €0.0497 to €0.0558 per kilowatt-hour, and the average final price was €0.0547 per kilowatt-hour. In the previously held special tender in March, prices ​​were still between €0.0390 and €0.0840 per kilowatt hour and the average price was €0.0659. The joint tender for photovoltaic and wind power on-shore held in April also delivered a higher final average price at €0.0566 per kWh.

In the first round of photovoltaic tender held in February, however, it was €0.0480 cents per kilowatt-hour, but below the June level. This is due to the fact that relatively many projects have been assigned in Bavaria that are to be realized on agricultural land in less favored areas. The tender prices reached the lowest level so far in February 2018.

The Bundesnetzagentur also explained that it allocated more power than established due to a “very large bid”. It must therefore be a project significantly larger than 50 MW that is to be realized on agricultural land in less favored areas. In this case, the 10 MW site limit for the tender projects does not apply.

Projects were only assigned to states in the eastern and southern parts of the country, which interested states account for a maximum of three projects each. The big project, which was assigned as last winning bid, is likely to be located in the northern region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,  which secure 135 MW of the selected schemes.

The Federal Network Agency had to exclude 13 bids for photovoltaic systems with 46 megawatts due to formal errors. Successful bidders now have time until July 8 to deposit the guarantee. Then the Bonn authority will publish final results.

The next technology-specific photovoltaic tender will be in October, followed by the second special tender in December. In September, a technology-neutral innovation tender is also scheduled to take place. Whether this comes and in which form, is still open, since the Federal Government must issue a new related regulation. In November, there will also be another call for tender, in which photovoltaic systems compete with wind.