First German ‘technology neutral’ wind and solar tender launched

Onshore wind and solar PV will go head-to-head for the first time in a new 200 MW tender in Germany. Bids for solar PV ground-mounted projects and onshore wind farms can be submitted to the Federal Network Agency by April 3.

February 20, 2018 Sandra Enkhardt

Fundamental changes are underway as old coal-fired power stations continue to close at the end of their operational lives.

Image: Naturstrom AG

On Monday, Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) launched the first mixed round of tenders for large-scale solar and onshore wind projects. It is the first time the two renewable technologies will compete in a tender.

The German government hopes to assign around 200 MW of either wind and solar power in this first round. Bids can be submitted by April 3. The ceiling price for both technologies was set at €0.0884/kWh (AU$0.138/kWh), according to the agency.

The technology-neutral auctions are being implemented upon request of the European Commission, which is requiring member states to introduce tenders that are competitive on a technological basis.

While there will be no size restrictions for onshore wind farms, there is a 10 MW limit for utility-scale solar systems. Bids for PV projects up to 20 MW could also be made in certain regions in which declines in coal sector has impacted the workforce, the Federal Network Agency said. Bids can be made for either onshore wind or solar PV projects sized over 750 kW.

Under the tender, although projects will not have to include costs for incurred local grid capacity expansions, solar developers will have to take into account additional costs for grid integration that will range, according to the agency, between €0.08 and €0.88 per kWh depending on the project’s location. For wind the additional cost will be between €0.07 and €0.58 per kWh.

Round two of the tender has been scheduled for November 1, 2018.

The results of the first PV tender of the year – which had the deadline of February 1 – have not yet been published by the Federal Network Agency. These should be “set in the near future,” a spokesman for the authority told pv magazine last Friday.

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