Higher prices in auctions reflect real market value, says BWE

The rise in prices in Germany’s latest onshore wind power auction is an “approximation to the real market value” of the technology, the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) says in a press release. Previous auctions were characterised by “massive distortions” as many of the submitted bids did not have to obtain a construction license beforehand, which led to unequal conditions for participants and an unjustified price drop. The latest auctions “put an end to these distortions,” the BWE says. Germany’s auction system is “still at the beginning of a learning curve,” the lobby organisation argues, calling for obtaining a license mandatory for all future auction participants. The BWE stresses that citizens’ energy projects, for which the special license regulations were made, still competed in the latest auction, showing that they did not need easier conditions to succeed.
In a separate press release, the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) also says that the higher prices for onshore wind are “realistic” as the distortions of competition have been removed. According to BDEW head Stefan Kapferer, the awarded projects will likely be implemented, which was not a given for citizens’ energy projects that had been successful in previous auctions.

Find the BWE press release in German here, and the BDEW press release in German here.

Find background in the CLEW factsheet High hopes and concerns over onshore wind power auctions.