Germany’s Third Rooftop PV Tender Earns Price Of Rs 6.96/kWh

Germany’s solar procurement exercise has come to its end with the final prices hitting €0.07/Rs 5.71 ($0.073)/kWh to €0.0891/kWh. Results of third tender for rooftop PV projects ranging in size from 300 kW to 750 kW are out. Reviewing 171 bids with a total capacity of 212 MW, Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) selected 163 projects totaling 204 MW. The final prices quoted by the bidders ranged between €0.07 ($0.073)/kWh and €0.0891/kWh. The final average price has been calculated as €0.0853/Rs 6.96.

In the first such solar tender brought out last July, the agency had received the proposals from 168 bidders with a combined capacity of 213 MW. 114 projects were selected, totaling 152 MW. The prices ranged between €0.0535/kWh and €0.0789/kWh. The final average price was €0.0688/Rs 5.62.

Similar exercise was followed in January bringing out second PV tender. The agency had reviewed proposals from 209 bidders with a total capacity of 233 MW. It selected 136 projects, totaling 154MW. The final prices ranged between €0.0570/kWh and €0.0828/kWh. The final average price was €0.0743/ Rs 6.06.

The prices reflect the broader European market, especially France and UK which have seen similar prices. Moving to Portugal and Spain is where discovered prices have been lower.

Germany, with a total PV capacity of 59 GW, added 5 GW in 2021. There is a good chance it will cede it’s no. 4 position in the global solar capacity stakes to India this year, or early next year, as India looks at add close to 13-14 GW this year.

The German tender comes at a time when the EU has brought forward some targets for renewable energy additions, following the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukraine and its role in energy markets. Markets like Germany that were heavily dependent on Russian oil and Gas have been unable to impose comprehensive sanctions on Russian exports, notably oil and gas, due to their stark dependence on it.