Permitting issues behind yet another under-subscribed German onshore wind auction round

The amount of capacity allocated in German onshore wind auctions has been falling consistently. From 71% of the total capacity on offer in February 2019, it then fell to 45% and 30% in the auction round results released today. The average price of bids was €62/MWh.

Permitting is the reason why auction rounds are increasingly under-subscribed. The process to obtain a permit for a new onshore wind farm in Germany can now take over two years, compared to ten months just two years ago. Even projects that do get a permit are increasingly being challenged in the courts. A total of 11 GW of onshore wind projects are now stuck in the permitting procedure.

WindEurope Head of Advocacy & Messaging Viktoriya Kerelska said: “It’s disconcerting when the capacity onshore wind projects are winning at auctions is falling by the round in Europe’s biggest wind market. It’s clear that the permitting process in Germany is not fit for purpose. The fact that’s it taking longer and longer to get a permit is undermining Germany’s target of 65% renewables in electricity by 2030 just as we need to be intensifying build-out efforts. The German Government must now act decisively to put wind farm permitting back on track. And should enact concrete measures after the wind energy crisis meeting that’s set for after the summer break. Failure to do so will mean insufficient volumes to deliver on the Energiewende, end-consumers paying higher prices and the German wind supply chain put under increasing pressure.”