Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has decided to increase the maximum electricity tariff for rooftop solar and wind ahead of a tender for renewable energy projects in 2023.
The Federal Network Agency said it hoped that the increase in electricity prices would lead to an increase in tenders for renewable energy projects amid disappointing results in 2022 for photovoltaic and wind power tenders.
In 2023, the new maximum electricity price for rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in Germany is set at 0.1125 EUR/kWh (US$0.12/kWh), onshore wind power prices will be 0.073 EUR/kWh (US$0.77/kWh), and the maximum price for ground solar projects It is currently being determined.
This takes into account the increase in system construction and operating costs, as well as rising interest costs for financing solar projects, the Federal Network Agency said. Currently, the Bundestag (German Bundestag) has granted the Federal Network Agency a higher license scope, which can increase the maximum increase to 25%, while the previous increase was capped at 10%.
Klaus Müller, chairman of the Federal Network Agency, said he hoped that the increase in the maximum price would lead to an increase in tender volume and thus promote competition in the German PV market. He said the tender price was calculated so that the project would have sufficient revenue and stability to meet Germany's renewable energy expansion targets.
According to the SolarPower Europe report, Germany will once again become the country with the highest installed solar PV capacity in Europe in 2022. Germany's goal is to reach 215GW of photovoltaic capacity by 2030. Analysis by the media and some of the major players in the German market has highlighted the growth of tender volumes as one of the ways in which Germany can achieve this.
The number of tenders for rooftop solar PV was almost halved in December, the Federal Network Agency said. Despite this, 1.1GW of solar PV projects were signed in a tender round in April last year. Although the number of tenders has been reduced in advance, funds are still seriously insufficient.
Similar price increases and market volatility have been seen in tenders in other European countries. Poland signed only 486MW of solar PV projects in the December tender; Spain signed no solar projects in the December tender.
According to the SolarPower Europe report, Germany will take the lead in new installed capacity in 2022, adding about 7.9GW, followed by Spain with 7.5GW, Poland ranking fourth with 4.9GW, and the Netherlands with 4GW And France newly installed 2.7GW.
The bidding volume of the leading countries for solar installations is not satisfactory, which has to make people worry about the 2023 and subsequent renewable energy targets of the EU countries. For this reason, the governments of various countries have offered various incentives. Last month, the European Union approved nearly $30 billion in funding for Germany's Renewable Energy Renewal Plan, which aims to generate 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and become climate neutral by 2045.
The EU also made clear the need to make tenders more competitive by limiting risks and reducing costs for consumers and taxpayers. Germany's latest revision to nearly $30 billion renewable energy plan
In addition, the EU introduced emergency legislation last year to shorten the permitting time for rooftop solar and installations mounted on artificial structures to no more than one month.