Germany has launched a new call for bids to expand its onshore wind generation capacity. The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has confirmed that the first 2025 auction will offer a total volume of 3,443,164 kilowatts.

This process is held under the framework of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and is aligned with the national target of 10,000 megawatts annually, which will be evenly distributed across four scheduled auctions. “The auction volume in 2025 totals 10,000 megawatts and will be split evenly across the four annual dates,” the Agency states.

Although the official submission deadline is 1 May 2025, this date falls on a public holiday in Germany. As per §§188 and 193 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the deadline has been postponed to Friday, 2 May 2025. “The submission deadline for this auction is Friday, 2 May 2025,” the official notice clarifies.

Proposals must be delivered to the Federal Network Agency’s Bonn office (Tulpenfeld 4, 53113 Bonn) and will be accepted until midnight on the same day.

Key conditions and requirements

The Bundesnetzagentur has set a maximum bid value of 7.35 ct/kWh for this auction, according to resolution AZ 4.08.01.01/1#36. “Any offer exceeding this maximum value will be excluded from the award process,” the terms specify.

Only projects that have received authorisation under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and have been reported to the register before 3 April 2025 are eligible to participate.

The process also allows for additional bids, under Section 36j of the EEG, in cases where the installed capacity of a previously awarded project increases by more than 15%. These additional bids may only be submitted after the project is operational.

Format requirements and bid submission

To ensure validity, the Bundesnetzagentur has published a series of binding format specifications, as outlined in Section 30a (1) of the EEG. “Bids that do not comply with these format requirements will be excluded from the award process,” the document highlights.

All required forms must be downloaded from the official website, filled out electronically using a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, and must not be handwritten. Importantly, forms from previous auction rounds may not be reused.

The following documents are required depending on the project:

• Onshore wind auction form (1 May 2025)

• Federal Immission Control Act proof of holder

• Authorised representative information

• Additional wind turbines form (if applicable)

• Individual bid guarantee

• Bid withdrawal form

The provision of guarantees is mandatory, and one separate guarantee must be submitted per bid. “If a guarantee is provided, it must be submitted for each individual bid,” the Agency indicates.

Avoiding unnecessary documents

The Bundesnetzagentur advises against submitting additional documents or voluntary declarations beyond the official bid form, to streamline processing. The following are explicitly unnecessary:

• Copies of authorisations

• Market data register extracts

• Declarations of land ownership

• Cadastral documents

• Corporate bylaws

• Obsolete case numbers or parcel references

“Using only the official forms is sufficient for a successful application. Avoiding unnecessary paperwork provides significant relief,” the Agency adds.

Reimbursement of payments and guarantees

Unused cash guarantees, overpaid fees, and any other related payments will be refunded after the auction results are published. Due to internal and external auditing processes, this may take up to six weeks, according to the Federal Treasury’s payment schedule.

Annual perspective and possible adjustments

The Agency may choose to reduce the auction volume under Section 28(6) of the EEG if it anticipates that the total bids submitted would exceed the available capacity.

The 7.35 ct/kWh price cap is established under Section 85a(1) of the EEG, aimed at ensuring fair market pricing and financial sustainability within the support scheme.