{"id":1840,"date":"2026-04-02T18:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/1840\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T18:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:24:10","slug":"how-germany-has-led-europes-solar-pv-auctions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/1840\/","title":{"rendered":"How Germany has led Europe\u2019s solar PV auctions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indeed, this consistent demand for new government-backed renewable energy, and the government\u2019s willingness to support the energy transition through auctions, has been the driving force behind record-breaking renewable energy capacity procured through auctions. Figures from SolarPower Europe, published last month, show that a record 25.2GW of new solar capacity was awarded through government-backed tenders in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis support is very much useful to find the business case and to find the profitability, so that\u2019s why we decided to participate,\u201d says Micha\u0142 Sw\u00f3\u0142, CIO at R.Power, who speaks to PV Tech Premium this week.<\/p>\n

R.Power is a Polish independent power producer (IPP) active in several countries, including Germany, and Sw\u00f3\u0142 describes the German auction landscape as one that is \u201cvery important\u201d, particularly for IPPs looking to secure finance for an upcoming project, but one that could learn from other markets, particular with regard to the integration of battery energy storage systems (BESS) into the auction design.<\/p>\n

Auctions providing revenue certainty<\/p>\n

Germany has long been a leader in terms of national auctions, having awarded nearly 25GW of new solar PV capacity through auctions between 2021 and 2025, according to SolarPower Europe. The trade body also notes that Germany accounted for more than 20% of the EU\u2019s total solar capacity awarded through auctions in each of the last four years, and Sw\u00f3\u0142 says that this level of sustained support has been of significant benefit for developers as power prices fluctuate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pricing from PPAs for pure solar in Germany is going down, so this support scheme is very important,\u201d he explains. Figures from intelligence firm Pexapark show that, in February this year, the average price of a PPA signed in Germany fell by 1.3% month-on-month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, corporate PPAs can be significantly affected by broader power price disruption, particularly in the context of the conflict in the Middle East. This week, a Pexapark forecast said that the prices of a solar PPA signed in Germany could increase by 24% in the coming months<\/a>, and Sw\u00f3\u0142 says that national auctions can be a key tool in minimising this disruption for developers looking to secure finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, as an IPP, we are, all the time, looking for commercialisation in the long-run; to be able to go to the bank and have financing, but also to be able to meet\u00a0the criteria that we have from our investors, who expect a portfolio to be secure in terms of the revenue,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that it is very good that the German government wants to support this commercialisation, because it helps a lot on our side, in terms of financing [and] making investment decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sw\u00f3\u0142 also says that R.Power has sought to take advantage of solar-plus-storage tenders in Germany, which, according to SolarPower Europe, is the only EU member state that offered hybrid renewable energy-plus-storage tenders in 2025. The trade body said that, despite these auctions being technology neutral, solar-plus-storage remains the \u201cdominant winning configuration\u201d, drawing \u201cexceptionally strong interest\u201d, with four times as much submitted capacity as was offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the German case, we\u2019re trying to deal with co-location as well,\u201d Sw\u00f3\u0142 explains. \u201cIn autumn we participated in an innovation tender that was the first co-located auction; this is an interesting type of support because, in fact, this is the first one that we\u2019ve seen in the market, where the government wants to support co-location as a technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incorporating storage and \u2018green BESS\u2019<\/p>\n

When asked about the storage component, Sw\u00f3\u0142 says that R.Power is looking to expand its operational storage capacity until it is in line with its operational solar capacity. He describes the company\u2019s Polish BESS projects as \u201cpilot projects\u201d, compared to an 800MW solar portfolio currently in operation, and says that hybrid tenders are a key facilitator of co-located projects in Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are specifics in the German market,\u201d he explains. \u201cRight now, it\u2019s very challenging to have standalone battery connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Germany is also a strong example of how to incentivise solar-plus-storage auctions, compared to other European countries. In its auction report, SolarPower Europe calls on governments to \u201censure support scheme designs are adapted to the hybridisation of PV systems,\u201d particularly given the increasing attitude in Europe that the co-location of solar and storage is the most effective way to deploy renewable energy capacity in a manner that is profitable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, Sw\u00f3\u0142 says that the German auction system is not perfect, and could be improved further. Just this week, the government announced the results of an undersubscribed rooftop solar auction<\/a>, and Sw\u00f3\u0142 argues that market design, more broadly, could be improved to better facilitate new BESS additions.<\/p>\n

Specifically, co-located storage systems can currently only charge from the generation projects to which they are attached, rather than charging and discharging from the grid directly, enabling BESS projects to participate in arbitrage and ancillary services, a system he describes as \u201cgreen BESS\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat type of storage is not very efficient from our perspective, because you need to spend to buy the equipment and invest in the facility, which, in fact, only works for certain periods of time, which is different to the standalone case, where you can charge and discharge both ways from the grid easily,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou can participate in arbitrage, merchant and ancillary services all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the long-run, it would be better, definitely, if the grid was opened for storage, to be able to fully participate in the market,\u201d he continues. \u201cIn such a case, it would be much more attractive for offtakers to provide the offtake for co-location projects, which can do, in terms of storage, whatever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning from other markets<\/p>\n

As R.Power works in several countries, Sw\u00f3\u0142 also has a clear perspective on how the German market compares to others in Europe, particularly its home country of Poland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Poland, you can have a co-located project that, on the storage side, can be charged from the grid constantly,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou can do many cycles for the day\u2014one or two, or even more\u2014and [engage in] arbitrage and ancillary services. That type of [system] is easier for commercialisation because it\u2019s easier to find the revenue that covers the capex. It\u2019s also easier to find an offtaker for the prices for such a project.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly also has this capacity market scheme for storage\u2014at least it is going to have the auction this year\u2014and that can support banking, investment decisions and project finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Italy emerged as a key contributor to Europe\u2019s auction landscape last year, with the FER X<\/a> and MACSE<\/a> auctions awarding close to 8GW of solar capacity and 10GWh of batteries, respectively. Figures from SolarPower Europe show that Italy awarded double the renewable energy capacity of Germany through auctions in 2025, highlighting how Germany may have been the leader in European auctions for years, but that it is not unique in offering routes to market for renewable energy developers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I believe that for Germany, and for our markets in Europe, there should be more and more solutions like in Poland [with the] capacity market, or in Italy [with the] MACSE scheme,\u201d explains Sw\u00f3\u0142, highlighting ways in which the German government could improve its auction design by learning from other European countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of solutions provide a certain type of certainty in terms of the revenue stack in the long-run,\u201d he continues. \u201cThis is very useful in terms of finding commercialisation and the business case for making investment decisions and having project finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is particularly true for the storage side of the equation, with many, including Sw\u00f3\u0142, suggesting that bigger and better integration of BESS into Europe\u2019s energy mix will be a key contributor to the energy transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this is something to be considered in all markets in Europe, as a type of solution to support the development of storage, because storage is a game-changer for the energy transition in Europe,\u201d he says. \u201cIt provides an opportunity to meet supply and demand, and that\u2019s why it should be supported by the government; at the end of the day, [that\u2019s] the most effective use of energy which can be produced by renewables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Germany\u2019s auctions have been a driver of new solar capacity, providing crucial revenue certainty as the renewable energy sector sees its prices buffeted by macroeconomic and geopolitical disruption. But as storage becomes a more integral part of the energy mix, German auction design ought to be updated to reflect that, at least in Sw\u00f3\u0142\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be some kind of support from the government for grid operators to enhance the grids in a way that can absorb the storage,\u201d he says. \u201cThis should be the priority for the governments, to think [about] it holistically.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe German market is the example where this is going slowly. It\u2019s very difficult to obtain the connections to the grid for storage in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaders in the European solar sector are turning their attention to this year\u2019s\u00a0SolarPlus Europe<\/a>\u00a0event, to be held in Italy on 15-16 April by PV Tech publisher Solar Media. Information about the event, including the full agenda and options to purchase tickets are available on\u00a0the official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indeed, this consistent demand for new government-backed renewable energy, and the government\u2019s willingness to support the energy transition…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[663,722,666,5,671,1812,1813,1718,1814],"class_list":{"0":"post-1840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-auctions","9":"tag-european-union","10":"tag-finance","11":"tag-germany","12":"tag-poland","13":"tag-r-power","14":"tag-solar-plus-storage","15":"tag-solarpluseu","16":"tag-solarpower-europe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}