Only 50 MW awarded in Spain's 3.3-GW renewables auction

Spain’s renewables auction on Tuesday that was supposed to award 3,300 MW of wind and solar capacity ended in a fiasco with only 50 MW of projects winning due to the government’s low ceiling price, Spanish media reported citing sources within the industry.

The Spanish government capped the price at around EUR 45 (USD 46.36) per MWh, giving participants room to bid below that, but most of them priced their projects at around EUR 60/MWh on average, early reports state.

The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition, which runs the auction, is yet to release the official results. According to some sources, Spanish renewables firm Forestalia and Madrid-based Elawan Energy, which is controlled by Japan’s ORIX Corporation (TYO:8591), ended up being the only winners, splitting 50 MW of wind power.

The renewables auction held in October had similar pricing issues, closing with 177 MW of awards out of 520 MW that were offered. The ministry’s ceiling price for concentrated solar power was deemed too low for bidders on this technology, who left the competition with no awards.

For the November round, the ministry offered 1,800 MW of solar PV and 1,500 MW of wind power. Participants were to formulate their offers under the pay-as-bid pricing rules, with projects keeping some exposure to market prices. The pay-as-bid contracts for wind and solar have a term of 12 years.

This is a developing story. Renewables Now will release an update once the official results become available.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.030)

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