The Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway) today published the results of the onshore wind and innovation auctions held on 1 May 2025, marking a new milestone for Germany’s energy transition. Both auctions were significantly oversubscribed, reflecting growing momentum in the renewable energy sector.

Onshore wind auction: high participation and falling prices

The onshore wind auction offered a volume of 3,443 megawatts (MW), yet attracted 568 bids totalling 4,972 MW. Of these, 372 bids were awarded contracts for a combined 3,447 MW, while 15 bids were disqualified.

In this pay-as-bid auction, awarded prices ranged from 6.47 to 6.94 euro cents per kilowatt-hour (ct/kWh), with a volume-weighted average of 6.83 ct/kWh—well below the maximum ceiling of 7.35 ct/kWh.

The federal states receiving the largest awarded volumes were:

• North Rhine-Westphalia: 1,002 MW (126 awards)

• Lower Saxony: 960 MW (88 awards)

• Hesse: 379 MW (39 awards)

According to Bärbel Heidebroek, President of the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), “the wind industry has emerged stronger from the challenging years between 2019 and 2021.” However, she criticised the nearly two-month delay in publishing the results, warning that such postponements could unnecessarily slow down deployment.

Innovation auction: record-breaking oversubscription

The innovation auction—open exclusively to combinations of renewable energy technologies and storage systems—set a new record for oversubscription. A total of 158 bids were submitted for 2,020 MW, far exceeding the 486 MW available. Only 29 projects were awarded, totalling 488 MW, all of which were combinations of solar installations and storage.

Awarded prices ranged from 5.00 to 6.39 ct/kWh, with a volume-weighted average of 6.15 ct/kWh—well below both the price cap of 9.00 ct/kWh and the average of the previous auction (7.09 ct/kWh).

The federal states receiving the largest awarded volumes were:

• Bavaria: 137 MW (12 projects)

• Saxony-Anhalt: 124 MW (5 projects)

• Lower Saxony: 49 MW (2 projects)

Outlook: a clear path to sustained expansion

With over 7,500 MW awarded in just the first half of 2025, Germany is already approaching the previous year’s record of 10,996 MW. Should the current trend continue, total awards could reach 14,400 MW by the end of the year. The BWE emphasised the importance of maintaining political commitment and strengthening legal certainty to further encourage investment.

“With an average project realisation period of around two years from award, a significant surge in new wind capacity is expected from 2026 onwards,” Heidebroek noted. She also called for an accelerated grid expansion to prevent bottlenecks in connecting new installations.

Key upcoming dates

• Next onshore wind auction: 1 August 2025

• Next innovation auction: 1 September 2025