Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has invited bids for 2,134.57 MW of ground-mounted solar projects.

The last date to submit bids is July 1, 2026.

The ceiling tariff for the auction has been set at €0.059 (~$0.069)/kWh.

The ceiling tariff was calculated as the average of the highest successful bid values from the last three auction rounds for which results had been announced.

The highest successful bid values were €0.0626 (~$0.073)/kWh in July 2025, €0.0530 (~$0.062)/kWh in December 2025, and €0.0510 (~$0.059)/kWh in March 2026. The resulting value was €0.0600 (~$0.070)/kWh, but the ceiling tariff was capped at €0.059 (~$0.069)/kWh.

The total auction volume for 2026 is 9.9 GW, divided equally across three bid submission dates.

The July auction volume was adjusted under the provisions of Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act.

Bids may be submitted for ground-mounted solar projects proposed on agricultural land. The agency said such bids would not be permitted if ground-mounted solar projects on agricultural land registered in the market master data register, with commissioning on or after January 1, 2023, exceed 80 GW. As of March 31, 2026, the registered capacity stood at 17.7 GW.

Bids for projects on arable land and grassland in disadvantaged areas may be considered in all federal states for this auction.

Bundesnetzagentur said several provisions introduced under Solarpaket I still require state aid approval from the European Commission. Until approval is granted, the rules applicable as of May 15, 2024, will continue to apply.

If approval is not received by June 30, 2026, the maximum bid size for the auction will remain 20 MW, rather than the 50 MW introduced under Solarpaket I.

The agency also said the higher ceiling tariff for special solar projects and the special award procedure for first-segment solar projects introduced under Solarpaket I would not apply unless the European Commission’s approval is received by June 30, 2026.

For this auction, bidders will not be charged grid fees with a financing function, also referred to as capacity charges, in accordance with the Bundesnetzagentur’s orientation points on generator participation dated February 17, 2026.