RES auction prices have dropped considerably, both for solar and wind energy, driving green energy prices to levels below the System Marginal Price (SMP) for longer periods, the results of the latest auction, staged on Monday, have confirmed following similar results in 2018.

A price level of 78.42 euros per MWh for output by solar facilities with capacities of less than 1 MW at the RES auction in July, 2018 was less than the SMP for 2.9 percent of the total time elapsed until that stage in the year.

Six months later, at a RES auction in December, 2018, the price for this category dropped to 66.66 euros per MWh and was lower than the SMP for 32.2 percent of the year’s total time.

The trend is similar in the wind energy sector. In the category for wind energy facilities with capacities of between 3 and 50 MW, the RES auction price fell from 69.53 euros per MWh to 58.58 euros per MWh between July and December in 2018. The SMP was greater than auction prices for 19.7 and 59.2 percent of the time, respectively.