Germany’s latest renewable auctions have revealed that while investors are very keen to build solar power projects in the country, many are still reluctant to tackle wind turbines. In the solar power auction, investors offered to build arrays with a total capacity of almost 450 megawatts (MW), more than four times the 96 MW of volume on offer, grid agency BNetzA said, according to Clean Energy Wire and pv magazine.

The average successful bid was of 5.27 cents per kilowatt-hour (ct/kWh), a slight increase over the previous auction’s 5.18 ct/kWh. In contrast, the wind auction was significantly undersubscribed: The agency tendered around 826 MW, but successful bids only totalled 464 MW, at an average price of 6.14 ct/KWh, also a slight increase over the previous 6.07 ct/kWh earlier this year.

The German engineering federation VDMA said the results underscored the fact that the German government needed to act quickly to boost the rollout of wind power.

“The undersubscription confirms the urgent need for action to eliminate permit risks in order to make it more attractive to tackle new projects,” said Matthias Zelinger, head of the VDMA’s Power Systems division. “Despite the federal government’s initial steps and announcements, it is important to implement a clear, consistent and ambitious energy transition policy,” he added. Green party energy expert Julia Verlinden also said it was no surprise the wind power lull continued given the lack of government initiatives to improve the situation for new projects, according to pv magazine.