Germany continues to offer more onshore wind capacity support than the market can take up, information from grid regulator BNetzA showed Friday.
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Register NowIn a sixth undersubscribed auction in a row, some 204 MW of a possible 675 MW were awarded contracts, the regulator said.
So far this year, only 1.3 GW of a possible 3.2 GW have been awarded.
The average pay-as-bid sliding premium of Eur62/MWh ($69/MWh) was again the maximum bid possible.
That compared with a Eur56/MWh average in last year's auctions, when 2.3 GW of a possible 2.7 GW were awarded.
The final 2019 onshore wind has a December 1 deadline.
GROUND-BASED SOLAR BOOM
In contrast, Germany's October solar auction was four times oversubscribed, with 153 MW across 27 ground-based projects awarded contracts, the regulator said.
The average price fell 10% from the previous tender in June to Eur49/MWh, but remained above last year's average at Eur47.10/MWh.
Some 1.3 GW of ground-based projects were awarded contracts so far this year with the sector expected to be the fastest-growing renewables technology over the next five years.
Transmission system operators forecast ground-based solar to rise to over 20 GW in 2024 from 12.5 GW at end-2018, with the annual five-year outlook under the EEG levy not including subsidy-free projects.
On Wednesday, EnBW took the final investment decision for Germany's biggest solar park which will be realized without subsidies.
Its 180 MW Weesow-Willmersdorf project near Berlin is expected to come online in 2020 with construction to start earlier next year.
In total, German wind and solar capacity is forecast to reach 113 GW by end-2020, the TSOs say, with growth almost exclusively coming from solar with little onshore wind and no new offshore wind capacity additions expected next year.
German Onshore Wind Tender Price Comparison
| Tender | Vol awarded (MW) | Vol offered (MW) | Price (Eur/MWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| May-17 | 807 | 800 | 57.1 |
| Aug-17 | 1,013 | 1,000 | 42.8 |
| Nov-17 | 1,004 | 1,000 | 38.2 |
| Feb-18 | 709 | 700 | 46 |
| May-18 | 604 | 670 | 57.3 |
| Aug-18 | 666 | 670 | 61.6 |
| Oct-18 | 363 | 670 | 62.6 |
| Feb-19 | 476 | 700 | 61.1 |
| May-19 | 270 | 650 | 61.3 |
| Aug-19 | 208 | 650 | 62 |
| Sep-19 | 187 | 500 | 62 |
| Okt-19 | 204 | 675 | 62 |
| Dec-19 | tba | 500 | tba |
German Ground-based Solar Tender Comparison
| Tender | Vol awarded (MW) | Price (Eur/MWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Apr-15 | 157 | 92 |
| Apr-16 | 128 | 74.1 |
| Feb-17 | 200 | 65.8 |
| Feb-18 | 200 | 43.3 |
| Apr-18 * | 210 | 46.7 |
| Jun-18 | 183 | 45.9 |
| Oct-18 | 182 | 46.9 |
| Nov-18 * | 201 | 52.7 |
| Feb-19 | 178 | 48 |
| Mar-19 | 505 | 65.9 |
| Apr-19 * | 211 | 56.6 |
| Jun-19 | 205 | 54.7 |
| Oct-19 | 153 | 49 |
Source: BNetzA (*=open technology awarded solely to solar)
-- Andreas Franke, andreas.franke@spglobal.com
-- Edited by James Burgess, newsdesk@spglobal.com