Onshore wind projects miss out in joint renewables auction

Solar power projects again secured the entire volume of capacity available in a joint auction for new solar and onshore wind power licenses. Successful bids in the significantly oversubscribed auction ranged from 4.5 to 6.1 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh), the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) says in a press release.

Solar power bidders also secured all capacity available in the last joint auction in November 2018. Then, solar power lobby group BSW Solar and wind power lobby group BWE called on the government to end “artificial competition” between the two technologies. “The energy transition needs solar and wind power alike” the groups said, arguing that the different sources of renewable energy complimented each other for the benefits of the power system as whole. Following a sharp decline in new onshore wind power installations in Germany last year, the sector warns that public resistance to new turbines is endangering the supply of renewable energy demanded by industry and national climate targets. Meanwhile, Germany’s struggling solar sector is trying to regain a leading role in the country’s energy transition.