Global Renewables -- German Update -- April 21, 2019

From PV Magazine: solar once again the only winner in German renewables auctions --

In the first round of Germany’s 2019 mixed solar and wind auctions, all the successful projects were solar, continuing a trend which began last year. The Federal Network Agency received 109 bids for PV projects with a combined capacity of around 720 MW for the auction – not a single onshore wind bid was submitted. A final 18 projects, with a total capacity of 210 MW were selected.

A reader suggests Germany has maybe a two-year run with some more offshore wind before the whole thing is over.

Again, note: for the first round of Germany's 2019 mixed solar and wind auctions:

• not one onshore bid was submitted
• 18 solar projects with a total capacity of 210 MW were selected
• average: about 10 MW / project 

each project:

• 20 acres of panels
• total cost about $15 million (2016)
• cost does not include cost of connection to the grid
• so, $1.5 million / MW

In 2014:

From an August 25, 2014, post, this is 30-second sound bite for "cost of renewable megawatt":

• Solar: $3 million / MW
• Wind: $2.5 million / MW
• Natural gas: $865,000 / MW

Meanwhile, German wind, link here, and this is from a wind trade publication --

Germany in 2020 will see the first of the 2000-year turbines ending their 20-year subsidies and many are expected to be uneconomical and shutdown without it.

Energiewende has peaked out at 35% renewables, Germany just won't admit it. (and couldn't have gotten that far without backup hydro from Sweden/Norway & nuclear from France).

Just 135MW was installed in Germany in January and February 2019, 60% less than the 330MW in the same two months of 2018.

Total domestic onshore installations reached only 2,268MW in 2018, down 57% compared to 5,333MW in 2017.

Enercon expects the overall German onshore market in 2019 to shrink again to just 1.8-2GW but "will do everything it can to raise Enercon‘s domestic market share".

If the 2019 outlook materialises, and there is no improvement into 2020 in the project permitting and auction situation, "it will be clear to everyone what such a sharp reduction will mean for component suppliers and market players in Germany," warned the company.

In 2018 already, Enercon has slashed contracts with its German suppliers.

The loss in contracts contributed to some 835 job losses.

I did not post it, but there's an article in North Dakota news that energy experts in North Dakota suggest renewables close to causing grid instability.