Germany launches joint onshore wind and solar tender, including “grid component”

The German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has launched the first joint tender for onshore wind and solar power. The auctioned capacity is 200 megawatts (MW), the agency says in a press release. “The technologies directly compete for the lowest cost in power production,” the agency says about the renewable power auction that will conclude on 1 April. The BNetzA has capped the maximum support rate at 8.84 eurocents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh), and included a “distribution grid component” to facilitate the distribution of new installations in line with existing grid capacities. Installations that are supposed to be built in grid expansion areas receive minus points in the auction due to the higher costs that would result from connecting them to the grid. This would rank them lower vis-à-vis installations in areas where no grid expansion is required. There will be no special provisions for citizens’ energy cooperatives, meaning that all tendered projects must obtain a construction license before they can enter the auction procedure, the BNetzA says.

Find the press release in German here.