German onshore wind reverses trend with successful tender

Germany’s sixth and final onshore wind tender of the year was oversubscribed, while the weighted average bid price fell slightly.

The country’s energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), awarded contracts for 58 wind farms totalling 399.7MW. It had received 96 bids for 657.1MW, having initially made 366.9MW available.

The regulator excluded three bids due to errors in submission, while 107.8MW of bids were in areas where the grid was not sufficiently expanded.

Successful bid prices ranged between €55.90/MWh and €60.70/MWh, with a volume-weighted average of €59.10/MWh. The range narrowed from €56-62/MWh in the country’s most recent onshore wind-only tender in October, while the weighted average fell from €61.10/MWh.

This was Germany’s first and only oversubscribed onshore wind-only tender this year. 

The auction regulator has previously acknowledged that state-level permitting difficulties were deterring bidders from taking part in tenders.

Germany approved a series of climate measures in October 2019, including plans to accelerate permitting. In June 2020, the government agreed to give states the final say on setback distancing, making more sites available.

The regulator added that the most successful bids were for projects in Schleswig-Holstein (31 successful projects for a combined capacity of 153.6MW), followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (11 projects, 89.6MW) and Lower Saxony (eight projects, 84.9MW).

A separate, but concurrent solar PV tender for 256.9MW received bids for 936MW. The regulator awarded 45 projects for a combined capacity of 264.1MW.

Successful bid prices ranged between €48.80/MWh and €52.60/MWh, with a volume-weighted average of €51/MWh – slightly below the €49.80-53.60/MWh range and €52.30/MWh weighted average in the October round.