The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur or BNetzA) has launched the first 2019 renewable energies bidding round for onshore wind and solar power projects. The bidding date is set on 1 February 2019 and the two auctions will be held separately. For wind projects, the bidding price will be capped at €6.2c/kWh. The tender amount entails 700 MW, of which 155 MW in the so called "network expansion area", which comprises major parts of North Germany. As for solar projects, 175 MW will be available and the bidding price will be capped at €8.91c/kWh. In 2019, a total of 16 tenders will be carried out by the Federal Network Agency.
The last wind power auction was concluded in October 2018 and offered a capacity of 670 MW but was undersubscribed as 62 offers with a total capacity of 400 MW were submitted and only 57 bids with a volume of 363 MW were awarded a contract. The value of the submitted bids ranged between €5c/kWh and €6.3c/kWh, with an average bidding price of €6.26c/kWh.
The last solar auction also took place in October 2018 and offered 182 MW of capacity. 76 bids were submitted with a total cumulative volume of 551 MW, which means that the auctions was three times oversubscribed. The BNetzA eventually awarded 192 MW to 37 winners, of which more than half went to bidders in Bavaria and Brandenburg. The bidding prices ranged between €3.86c/kWh and €5.15c/kWh and the average price stood at €4.69c/kWh.
2018 was a special year for wind and solar power auctions since the Federal Network Agency held both dual bidding rounds for solar and wind projects along with the regular separate auctions for the first time. No single wind project qualified in the dual technology auctions, which proved the excellent price-to-performance ratio of solar facility but not the suitability of joint tenders.