Germany’s onshore wind auction oversubscribed twofold; solar round draws weak interest

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has published results from its February 1, 2026 tender rounds for onshore wind and solar installations on buildings and noise barriers.

Onshore wind

The round drew heavy competition, with 924 bids totalling 7,858 MW, more than double the 3,445 MW on offer. Contracts went to 439 projects covering the full tendered volume, with 24 bids disqualified. Accepted tariffs ranged from 5.19 ct/kWh to 5.64 ct/kWh, with a weighted average of 5.54 ct/kWh, down from 6.06 ct/kWh in the previous round. That marks the lowest average price since 2018, reflecting stronger competition and ongoing efficiency gains across wind projects.

Regionally, Lower Saxony secured the largest share at 957 MW, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (661 MW), Saxony-Anhalt (438 MW), and Brandenburg (396 MW). Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg together accounted for just 2% of awarded capacity, pointing to persistent geographic imbalances in Germany’s wind buildout.

Solar on buildings and noise barriers

This round was undersubscribed. Only 98 bids totalling 177 MW were submitted against a tendered capacity of 283 MW. After exclusions, 85 projects covering 155 MW were awarded, meaning all valid bids were accepted. Tariffs ranged from 7.88 ct/kWh to 10.00 ct/kWh, with a weighted average of 9.56 ct/kWh, marginally below the prior round’s 9.66 ct/kWh. North Rhine-Westphalia led regional allocations at 50 MW, followed by Lower Saxony and Brandenburg at 17 MW each.

December 2025 results

In a separate release, the agency also published December 2025 auction outcomes for biomass and solar on buildings and noise barriers. The biomass round tendered 813 MW and attracted 807 bids totalling 940 MW. Of those, 692 bids were successful: 33 awards for new plants (63 MW) and 659 for existing plants (752 MW), while 87 bids were excluded. The parallel solar auction, also targeting 283 MW, received 140 bids totalling 310 MW. After 19 bids covering 29 MW were disqualified, 121 bids representing 281 MW were accepted. 

The featured photograph is for representation only.