The latest rounds of German onshore wind and solar tenders were heavily under-subscribed as many investors chose to refrain from putting in bids due to price ceilings which were deemed too high given massive recent inflation and rising interest rates that push financing costs up.
The country’s federal grids agency (BNetzA) had nearly halved the tendering volume for onshore wind to 604MW after the previous two auctions had also met lackluster interest by developers. Nevertheless, the agency received a mere 16 bids with a combined capacity of 203MW. Only 14 of those were valid.
Prices for winning bids averaged €58.70 ($62.51)/MWh – very close to the €58.88/MWh price ceiling.
“The low number of bids submitted shows a reluctance that urgently needs to be ended. This market uncertainty jeopardises the future expansion of onshore wind energy,” said Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director at VDMA Power Systems, a group representing wind turbine OEMs.
“Cost increases and interest rate developments mean that projects with the previously applicable maximum value [which sets the price ceiling] are not economically feasible.
“The maximum value increase was therefore rightly passed as part of the electricity price brake [legislation] and should now be applied by the BNetzA as soon as possible.”
The latest solar tender was also clearly under-subscribed, with only 128MW in bids for installations on rooftops and along noise barriers handed in – out of 202MW on offer.
The average winning price of the 105MW in valid solar bids came in at €87.40/MWh, just under the €88.40/MWh price ceiling.
