Germany's Federal Network Agency had allocated 240 MW of biomass plant projects out to tender in its latest round, which was 'significantly oversubscribed', leading to a decrease in average prices.
The regulatory authority received 788 bids with a total volume of 742 MW. The awarded projects came to 263, with 257 of these relating to operational plants.
The values of the awarded bids ranged from 14.16 cent/kWh to 18.48 cent/kWh.
The average volume-weighted award value in this round was 17.80 cents/kWh, compared to 18.28 cents/kWh in the previous round.
About one-third of the successful projects are for capacity in Bavaria, which saw 127 contracts of 90 MW in total awarded.
Klaus Mรผller, president of the Federal Network Agency, said that strong competition in the tenders for biomass plants is stabilising.
However, Sandra Rostek, head of the Capital Office for Bioenergy, said the tender outcome indicates the insufficiency of financial incentives for the sector, because hundreds of existing plans will seek to renew their support contracts after their initial term expires.
At the same time, the withdrawal of biomass from the EEG subsidy regime may lead to the closing of biogas facilities not being able to secure new contracts. This trend could risk the energy transition's success, she added.
The next round of tenders for biomethane plants will take place on 1 September, and for biomass plants on 1 October.
German biomass tender is “significantly oversubscribed”
