Germany added 421 MW of solar photovoltaic installations in October 2020, a 12% increase compared to 376 MW added in October 2019, according to the latest data from Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur. The country had installed 387 MW the previous month.

As per the data released by the federal agency, cumulative solar installations in the country stood at 53.18 GW at the end of October 2020. In August 2020, Germany added around 400 MW of solar capacity, a 6.32% decrease compared to 427 MW of additions in July 2020.

Germany had added around 1.22 GW of new solar photovoltaic installations in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, a 34% increase from the same quarter last year, according to the latest data from the federal agency.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany added approximately 3.5 GW of solar capacity in the first nine months (9M) of 2020, a 17% increase compared to the 2.98 GW of installations in 9M 2019.

Germany installed a total capacity of 3.3 GW in 2013, 1.9 GW in 2014, 1.5 GW in 2016, 1.75 GW in 2017, and 3 GW in 2018. Total solar installations in 2019 reached 3.9 GW.

Recently, Bundesnetzagentur revealed that solar bids won the full capacity in the latest 202 MW wind and solar auction in Germany. The tender was oversubscribed by 518 MW, and there was not a single bid for wind projects.

In October 2020, Bundesnetzagentur announced that its tender for 96.4 MW was oversubscribed and received 87 bids for about 393.3 MW of solar projects. The agency would award a total of 30 bids for about 103.1 MW of projects. Bids for these projects ranged between €0.049 (~$0.058)/kWh and 0.054 (~$0.063)/kWh.

Mercom earlier reported that the German government announced its plans to enhance the country’s total solar capacity from the current 52 GW to 83 GW in 2026 and 100 GW in 2030. The country also intends to expand its onshore wind project’s cumulative capacity from the current 54 GW to 65 GW in 2026 and 71 GW in 2030.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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