Upcoming RES auctions offering wind and solar project installation capacities appear increasingly likely to miss an early-June date set by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, the main reason being the energy ministry’s delay in delivering a ministerial decision. A considerable number of preliminary measures, needed to ensure that the auctions run smoothly, are also pending.

The energy ministry needs to sign a ministerial decision, signifying approval, based on a plan presented by RAE. The ministry intends to soon endorse the plan but a specific date has yet to be set, energypress sources informed.

RAE has ascertained it will take immediate follow-up action and officially announce the auctions once the ministerial decision has been signed.

It is estimated that a period of at least five weeks will be required to stage the RES auctions following their announcement, meaning the RAE plan to stage the sessions in early June will most likely not be actualized. Three RES auctions have been planned for major-scale solar projects, small-scale solar projects and wind facility capacities, respectively.

As things currently stand, the RES auctions could be held in July, at best, while a September date is also regarded as a possibility if the ministerial decision is delayed any further. Certains pundits even fear the delays could hold back the auctions until the first quarter of 2019.

RAE wants to avoid any delay beyond the early summer as the authority is determined to project the country’s RES market as mature and attractive to local and foreign investors.

The RAE plan, concerning 2018 and 2019, entails staging separate RES auctions offering annual totals of 300 MW for solar energy projects with capacities below 1 MW, at a starting price of 85 euros per MWh; 300 MW for solar energy projects with capacities between 1 and 10 MW, at a starting price of 80 euros per MWh; 300 MW for wind energy projects at a starting price of 90 euros per MWh; as well as 400 MW for combined wind and solar project investments.