Low turnout in first round of biomass auctions
Twenty-four projects with a total capacity of 28 MW have been awarded funding in the first round of tenders for biomass plants, the Federal Network Agency that organises the auctions has announced. A total of 33 bids with a combined capacity of 41 MW were entered into the competition – considerably less than the 122 megawatt the agency had aimed for. Twenty of the successful bids were submitted by existing plants, while only four came from new projects. The average price reached in the tender is 14.3 euro cents per kilowatt-hour.
Bioenergy lobby groups have said in a joint statement that participation would likely increase in the second round of tenders in 2018. Many bioenergy facilities are still receiving feed-in tariffs, which make the tenders less attractive for them. They also suggested that the auction design should be reviewed in order to protect smaller bidders.
Read the press release from the Federal Network Agency in German here.
Read the statement from the lobby groups in German here.