Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has awarded 488 MW of solar plus storage capacity in the latest round of its innovation tender for renewable energy projects.

The agency received 158 bids totaling 2,020 MW. Out of these, 29 bids were awarded contracts.

The awarded prices ranged from €0.05 (~$0.0589)/kWh to €0.0639 (~$0.0753)/kWh. The volume-weighted-average award price was €0.0615 (~$0.0724)/kWh, well below the maximum permissible price of €0.09 ($0.11)/kWh and also lower than the average of €0.0709 (~$0.0835)/kWh recorded in the previous round.

Bavaria secured the largest share with 137 MW awarded across 12 bids. Saxony-Anhalt followed with 124 MW from five bids, and Lower Saxony received 49 MW from two successful bids.

Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, noted that the current round set a new record, with the total bid volume surpassing 2 GW for the first time. He stated that this reflects sustained high market interest in diverse forms of renewable generation.

The next innovation tender is scheduled for September 1, 2025.

In the auction held in October 2024, the agency received 154 bids totaling 1,856 MW. Of these, 50 bids representing 587 MW were awarded contracts. Most bids involved solar and storage combinations. Wind-storage projects were submitted for the first time, totaling 91 MW, although none were awarded.

The awarded bid values in that round ranged from €0.0674 (~$0.07944)/kWh to €0.0745 (~$0.0878)/kWh. The volume-weighted-average price was €0.0709 (~$0.0835)/kWh, below both the maximum price of €0.0918 (~$0.108)/kWh and the previous round’s average of €0.0833 (~$0.0981)/kWh.

Most of the bids in this auction round were also for projects in Bavaria, which received 25 bids for a total capacity of 227 MW. It was followed by projects in Mecklenburg in Western Pomerania, which received seven bids for a total capacity of 115 MW. Rhineland-Palatinate received three bids for a total capacity of 57 MW.

Bundesnetzagentur recently awarded 2,638 MW of ground-mounted solar projects categorized under the ‘first segment,’ which are installations located on structures that are neither buildings nor noise barriers.

In March this year, Bundesnetzagentur awarded a total rooftop solar capacity of 316,964 kW in 143 bids.