Third German onshore auction launched

GERMANY: The third of four onshore wind auction in 2018 has been launched, for a total capacity of 670MW. Bids are to be lodged with federal energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur by 1 August.

by Sara Knight 26 June 2018

Germany has launched the third of four onshore auctions to be held in 2018 (pic: Petra Klawikowski)

The auction allocations are on a pay-as-bid basis, except for so-called citizens‘ wind projects, which all win the highest successful bid.

The maximum bid allowed at all of this year's auctions is €63/MWh. Auction participants pitch bids calculated for a reference site so that projects in regions with lower wind speeds can compete on more equal terms with those in regions with higher wind speeds.

The regulator set the maximum bid for 2018 in November 2017 when the average generation cost by turbines currently available in the market was deemed to be €56/MWh.

The second 2018 auction, on 1 May, was undersubscribed and only 604MW of a possible 670MW was allocated, with an average winning rate of €57.3/MWh.

This was the highest average winning bid amongst the five German onshore wind auctions held since May 2017.

The lowest was €38.2/MWh from the November 2017 auction, at which unpermitted citizens‘ projects could participate, with four and a half years allowed for implementation and the chance to use next generation turbine technology.

Since then, in a rule extended in June to mid-2020, all projects entering auctions must be fully permitted with a stated turbine type available in the market.