Germany’s federal energy network has awarded 2,271MW of PV capacity in its latest auction for ground-mounted and non-building solar projects.
The Bundesnetzagentur’s 1 July auction saw 313 bids totalling 2,820MW submitted for 2,266MW of available capacity under its so-called first-segment solar installation category.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
In the end, 258 bids were successful and with a combined capacity that slightly exceeded the auction limit.
The prices of the successful bids in the pay-as-bid auction ranged from 4.00 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh) to 6.26ct/kWh, falling comfortably below the 6.8ct/kWh limit set for the auction. The average volume-weighted award price in this round was 4.84ct/kWh, slightly above that of the previous round (4.66ct/kWh).
“Competition is still keeping award prices well below the price ceiling,” said Klaus Müller, president of the Bundesnetzagentur. “Award prices have been stable for more than a year now. Sustained competition also provides a reliable framework for bidders in the auction.”
As in previous rounds, Bavaria was the federal state with the most volume awarded (689MW, 106 winning bids), followed by Rhineland-Palatinate (251MW, 23 winning bids) and Lower Saxony (250MW, 18 winning bids).
This is the latest auction round in Germany to be oversubscribed, with the last four attracting huge interest. The September 2024 and February 2025 rounds, in particular, closed with bids for almost twice as much capacity as was available. The levels of competition have helped keep prices down.
The next auction for first-segment solar installations will close for bids on 1 December 2025.
