Germany is making steady progress in its energy transition with the award of 4,094,160 kilowatts in its latest onshore wind auction, conducted by the Bundesnetzagentur with a bid submission deadline of 1 February 2025. The awarded volume marks one of the highest levels in recent years and is distributed among 422 approved projects.

The average volume-weighted price was 7.00 ct/kWh, slightly below the maximum permitted bid of 7.35 ct/kWh. Winning bids ranged from 5.62 ct/kWh to 7.13 ct/kWh, highlighting strong price competition among participants.

“The lowest awarded bid was 5.62 ct/kWh, while the highest reached 7.13 ct/kWh,” the Federal Network Agency stated in its official release. The procedure is regulated under Article 35(1) of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), and results were published on 25 March, taking effect from 1 April 2025.

The agency confirmed that the total auction volume for 2025 is 10,000 megawatts, evenly split across four rounds. This first phase covers more than 40% of the annual volume, and no volume reduction was applied as there was no indication of under-subscription.

Among the awardees are major companies such as Enertrag, RWE, JUWI, EnBW, PNE, Alterric, Energiekontor, and Abo Energy. Most of the awarded wind farms are concentrated in the northern regions of Germany, where wind resources and infrastructure are well established.

Auction conditions and participant requirements

Although the original bid deadline was 1 February, it was extended to Monday 3 February due to the date falling on a Saturday, in accordance with sections 188 and 193 of the German Civil Code (BGB). Only projects with a valid permit under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and registered before 6 January 2025 were eligible to participate.

Unsuccessful bidders were not listed and will receive individual notifications outlining the reasons for rejection. Appeals must be submitted to the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf within one month of notification.

Solar auction results – Second segment

Alongside the wind results, the Bundesnetzagentur also released the outcome of the solar second-segment auction, awarding 143 projects totalling 316,964 kilowatts.

Here, the average awarded price reached 9.10 ct/kWh, with bids ranging from 7.90 ct/kWh to 9.69 ct/kWh, all within the maximum bid cap of 10.40 ct/kWh. The total auctioned volume was 315,405 kilowatts, and like the wind tender, the deadline was extended to 3 February 2025.

“The European Commission has not yet approved the increased auction volumes proposed under the Solar Package I,” the agency warned, referring to the planned 600 megawatts that remain pending due to state aid clearance. As a result, previous regulatory thresholds remain in effect, including a minimum bid size of 1,001 kilowatts.

Awarded entities include Adv Green Energy GmbH & Co. KG, with projects in Lower Saxony. This round followed a “pay-as-bid” pricing scheme and saw no volume reductions under Article 28b(6) of the EEG.

Strategic signals for the renewables market

Together, both auctions demonstrate a robust level of interest and confidence in Germany’s renewable energy market, with over 4.4 GW awarded in total across wind and solar segments during Q1 2025.

The Bundesnetzagentur reiterated that only official electronic forms will be accepted, and manually completed or unsolicited additional documents will lead to disqualification.

With these results, Germany is sending a clear signal of its commitment to climate targets by accelerating the expansion of renewables through transparent, competitive and large-scale tenders.