The preliminary results of Portugal’s latest solar auction for 700 MW of capacity have been released with the winning bid price dropping to a record low of €0.01114/kWh. This is lower than the record low bid price of €0.0146/kWh witnessed in the 1,150 MW solar auction in Portugal in June 2019. This is even lower than the €0.011/kWh winning bid submitted by French energy group EDF and China’s JinkoPower in a 2 GW solar tender in Abu Dhabi.
As part of this auction, 670 MW of solar power generation capacity was allocated in 13 allotments, mostly located in the country’s sunny southern region. Out of this, 483 MW was allocated to solar PV projects linked to energy storage, 177 MW to projects under the “system compensation” remuneration option and 10 MW to the projects under “contract for difference” regime. Both the recent auctions in Portugal will help Portugal in reacing its ambition of having 7,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030.
The initial reports indicate six winning bidders with South Korean solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells grabbing a total of 315 MW of solar power capacity and 100 MW of energy storage capacity. Spanish utility Iberdrola and electricity group Endesa have been awarded one allotment each, while Germany’s TAG Energy has been awarded two allotments.