Germany’s Federal Network Agency for Electricity and Gas, the Bundesnetzagentur, has decided to keep the price ceilings for biomass and biomethane auctions unchanged for the next 12 months. The maximum bid prices for new biomass installations remain at 19.43 cents per kilowatt-hour (ct/kWh) while existing biomass installations can bid up to 19.83 ct/kWh. For biomethane installations, the price ceiling stays at 21.03 ct/kWh, the same as last year, reports Bioenergy Insight.
Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur, emphasised the importance of maintaining stable conditions. “Keeping last year’s price ceilings for biomass and biomethane auctions ensures stable and reliable conditions for participants,” he said.
The decision to hold the price ceilings at last year’s levels provides a predictable framework for the auctions. Without this adjustment, the ceilings would have reverted to the significantly lower limits set under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). Last year, the Bundesnetzagentur increased the price ceilings for biomethane and new biomass installations by 10%.
The updated price ceilings reflect the forecasted levelized costs of electricity and the additional revenue that installation operators can generate beyond the EEG remuneration. The agency also considered the improved framework conditions for flexible operation of installations, resulting from the “biogas package” amendments passed by the German Bundestag and approved by the Bundesrat.
Maintaining the current price ceilings ensures that participation in future auctions remains economically viable for biomass projects. For biomethane auctions, the Bundesnetzagentur noted that the impact of last year’s price ceiling increase and the expansion of bidding opportunities across Germany is still being evaluated. Additionally, the planned increase in the flexibility markup for highly flexible biomethane installations, as outlined in the biogas package, is expected to significantly enhance economic efficiency once implemented.
The decision underscores Germany’s commitment to supporting renewable energy sources while providing a stable environment for investors and operators in the biomass and biomethane sectors.
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