Germany’s Tenders Award Contracts for Gas Plants With 4,500 MW of De-rated Capacity
Key Facts
Germany’s Federal Network Agency announced the results on 3 November 2026 of its first long-term electricity capacity tender, awarding contracts to RWE Generation and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke, a subsidiary of LEAG, as part of an effort to secure power supplies when renewable generation falls. The list of winning projects includes sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony. Winning prices ranged from 129,551 to 189,970 euros per megawatt of de-rated capacity per year, according to agency data. The agency published the results on a previously scheduled date, after offering 4,500 MW of de-rated capacity in the first round. These figures refer to the capacity counted under the tender mechanism and do not by themselves determine the nominal capacity of the generating plants to be built.
The tender is intended to provide guaranteed electricity capacity during extended periods when renewable generation is low or imports are unavailable, according to the agency’s explanation. The regulator said the framework was designed to ensure firm capacity is available and cover periods when renewable sources do not generate enough to meet the grid’s needs. It added that plants must meet technical and location requirements, including the availability of an immediate reserve to support grid stability. The agency described the ability to secure supplies during periods of weak renewable generation or absent imports as one that “also allows longer periods without generation from renewable energy sources or without electricity imports to be secured.” The tender therefore combines a focus on supply security with operating requirements related to project locations and their ability to support the grid.
The first round allocated 4,500 MW of de-rated capacity, with a price cap of 244,000 euros per megawatt per year for bids. The highest winning bid was 189,970 euros, below the cap set by the agency, while the lowest was 129,551 euros per megawatt per year. The gap between the two prices represents the range of successful bids in the tender, while the figures alone do not disclose the value of each contract or how capacity is distributed among projects. Under the mechanism, winners receive annual remuneration determined by competition in exchange for committing to provide generating capacity for the duration of the contract. The agency said a winner “is obliged to retain and make generating capacity available for 15 years, and receives annual remuneration in return.”
Interest in the tender had been high before the results were published: Reuters reported on 9 September that applications had greatly exceeded the amount offered, but said the agency had not disclosed the precise number of bids. In its timetable issued in July, the agency said the first-round results would be announced by 3 November, the date on which the official list was published. LEAG had previously said it submitted several gas-fired power plant projects at sites in eastern, central and southern Germany, and had sought grid connection solutions for its plants in Jänschwalde, Boxberg, Schwarze Pumpe and Lippendorf. The company said the agency would complete its evaluation of the bids and publish the winning projects by 3 November, and that it could not provide further details before then for competition-related reasons. The official results list confirms that Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG won projects in Brandenburg and Saxony, alongside RWE Generation SE in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The results come amid energy companies’ plans to add gas plants that can be converted to hydrogen, but previously announced projects alone do not establish the terms of the winning contracts or their implementation schedule. RWE said in October 2025 that its proposed plant in Voerde, using combined-cycle technology and capable of running on hydrogen, could have capacity of about 850 MW, and that the plan at the time targeted the start of electricity generation in 2030. Based on the available information, the company did not link the project to the terms of this tender in that announcement. Separately, daily closing data showed that RWEOY shares ended the 2 November session at 63.30 dollars, compared with 64.19 dollars on 30 October. Both closes were from sessions before the results announcement, so they do not represent a price reaction to the session in which the contracts were published.
As for the next step in the tender schedule, the agency announced that the date for the second round of long-term capacity tenders would be disclosed on 10 November 2026. It also said the first-round results published on 3 November would be deemed legally announced on 10 November. This date is part of the schedule set by the regulator after the first round, while the available information provided no details on the size or terms of the second round. The winning prices in the current round remain tied to de-rated capacity and the competitively determined annual remuneration. The 15-year availability period provides a clear timeframe for the winners’ capacity-supply obligations.