Germany has adjusted the maximum bid price for rooftop solar system auctions in 2026 to €0.10 per kilowatt-hour (approximately $0.117/kWh).
This cap represents a slight decrease from the €0.104/kWh ceiling set for the 2025 rooftop solar auctions but remains above the average award price for this year’s tenders. The average awarded price in the tender held in the first quarter of 2025 was €0.091/kWh for 315 MW of capacity, while the July tender saw an average winning bid of €0.0922/kWh for 255 MW.
The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), responsible for the solar auctions, explained that the slightly lower price ceiling for 2026 is based on a comprehensive assessment of the expected downward trend in the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and the results of recent auction rounds.
Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, stated: “Setting the new maximum value provides a framework for a large number of bidders to participate. This maximum value is below the 2025 level due to the expected decline in the levelized cost of electricity and the intense competition in recent tenders.”
On the other hand, the price ceilings for ground-mounted solar tenders and the “innovation tenders” (for renewable energy projects coupled with storage) remain unchanged for now and will continue to follow the standard set by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).
The Federal Network Agency noted that the price ceiling for ground-mounted solar tenders in each round will be determined based on the results of the previous three tenders. In early 2025, the average award price for ground-mounted solar tenders reached its lowest level since 2019, at €0.0476/kWh. All ground-mounted solar tenders held in 2025 were oversubscribed, fully demonstrating the market’s strong interest in this category. Specifically, the average price was €0.0466/kWh in April 2025 and €0.0484/kWh in August 2025.
Regarding the innovation tenders, the agency stated that a price ceiling of €0.0713/kWh will apply in 2026. This level is significantly higher than the average award prices in the most recent two innovation tenders of 2025: €0.0531/kWh in October and €0.0615/kWh in July.
All winning projects in the July innovation tender were solar-plus-storage projects. Meanwhile, the two innovation tenders held in 2025, although with a tender volume set at less than 500 MW, received bidding applications exceeding 2 GW.
The strong market interest in tenders supporting storage integration has also driven a significant decrease in the average winning bid price since last year. The average capacity-weighted price in the October 2024 innovation tender was €0.0709/kWh, which is closer to the price ceiling set by the Federal Network Agency for such tenders in 2026.
