German Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur has announced the auction results for the 250 MW solar innovation auction. In all, 16 solar plus storage projects with a combined capacity of 156 MW were declared winners in the auction.

The last date for the submission of bids was August 1, 2021.

The weighted average tariff of the awarded projects was €0.0455 (~$0.0532)/kWh, slightly higher than in the previous round when it was €0.0429 (~$0.0501)/kWh.

The lowest bid quoted by the winning bidders for the solar plus storage combination was €0.0399 (~$0.0466)/kWh and the highest bid was €0.0548 (~$0.0641)/kWh.

Unlike in the standard, technology-specific auctions, the financial support provided to winners in this auction is added to the market revenues, so the results of this auction cannot be compared with the standard auctions.

The auction was undersubscribed, with 23 bids comprising a capacity of nearly 250 MW submitted. The number of bids and the bid volume submitted was around half of that in the previous auction round. All bids were for combinations of solar installations with storage facilities.

The statutory volume control was applied for the first time as the action was undersubscribed. This meant that bids were awarded until 80% of the bid volume of the accepted bids had been reached or exceeded.  Only 16 bids with a total volume of 156 MW were successful due to the volume control. Six bids were disqualified due to errors.

On June 1, 2021, the agency auctioned 152 MW of ground-mounted and rooftop solar projects. The agency selected 114 projects with 152 MW capacity, 2 MW more than its planned allocation capacity of 150 MW. The lowest bid quoted for rooftop solar tender was €0.0535 (~$0.063)/kWh, and the highest was €0.0789 (~$0.093)/kWh. The lowest bid quote for ground-mounted solar tender was €0.046 (~$0.055)/kWh, and the highest was €0.059 (~$0.070)/kWh. The average quoted price for the tender was €0.0688 (~$0.081)/kWh.

In its auction held in December 2020, the agency auctioned  664 MW of wind and solar projects. The agency had received a total of 45 bids aggregating 264.15 MW of solar projects for its 256.9 MW solar tender. The lowest bid quoted for the solar tender was €0.048 (~$0.059)/kWh, and the highest was €0.052 (~$0.064)/kWh. The average quoted price for the tender was €0.051 (~$0.062)/kWh. The surcharges are expected to be announced on December 28, 2020.