Wind turbines in Germany. Image by: Q-Energy
Germany's Federal Network Agency has increased the price caps for the auctions for onshore wind and rooftop solar energy in 2023 by the maximum 25% in a bid to revive the waning interest in tendered capacities.
The maximum price in the tenders for onshore wind energy next year is set at EUR 0.0735 (USD 0.078) per kWh and for rooftop solar systems, it is EUR 0.1125 per kWh, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said on Tuesday. The last tenders in the two categories were capped at EUR 0.0588 per kWh for onshore wind and EUR 0.0891 per kWh for solar systems on buildings and noise barriers.
With the adjusted maximum prices for 2023, the regulator aims to make renewable energy tenders more attractive and draw stronger interest following the sharp drop in bids observed in 2022. The weaker interest is a result of higher construction and operation costs as well as increased costs for project financing, the agency explained.
Despite a sufficient number of approved projects, the last tender for onshore wind awarded only 189.45 MW which is about a third of the targeted 604 MW. The round was vastly undersubscribed although the auctioned capacity was reduced from the initially planned 1,190 MW in advance.
Overall, about 4,600 MW of wind capacity was offered in four calls during 2022 and only 3,224 MW were awarded.
Interest in the last round for rooftop solar was also weak as only 105 MW of the targeted 202 MW were allocated.
In a bid to counter the trend, the Federal Network Agency was authorised earlier in December to raise the maximum prices by up to 25% instead of 10% which was the maximal increase until now.
The regulator noted that it is preparing a higher cap in the auction for ground-mounted solar projects and plans to examine a similar move for the innovation tenders at the beginning of 2023.
Germany's wind energy association BWE welcomed the decision. The cap of EUR 0.0735 per kWh creates the basis for broad participation in the first tender, according to BWE's president Hermann Albers. In his words, even if the price is not sufficient for some projects due to significantly higher costs and interest rates, the higher maximum price puts the majority in a better position.
Next year will be crucial for wind energy in Germany as the legal adjustments to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), the Law on Onshore Wind Energy and other accompanying laws will take effect in 2023, Albers added.
Next year, Germany will seek to award 12.84 GW of onshore wind in four rounds and 651 MW of rooftop solar in three calls.
The deadline for the next tenders for the two technologies is February 1, 2023.
