(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s latest onshore wind auction generated less interest than the previous sale, raising doubts about government targets for the expansion of renewable energy.

Companies offered to develop about 1.4 gigawatts of capacity in the Aug. 1 auction, down from 1.6 gigawatts in the May round, according to data from the country’s regulator Bundesnetzagentur. While the regulator says onshore awards have increased this year from 2022, Germany needs to triple its capacity to meet its goal of generating 80% of its power from renewables by 2030.

In anticipation of reduced interest and to maintain competition, BNetzA had cut the tendered amount from 3.2 gigawatts to about 1.7 gigawatts before the auction. That step was criticized by the wind industry as “too drastic.”

After long approval procedures had previously stalled onshore wind projects, the regulator had raised maximum rates for tenders to offset soaring finance and supply-chain costs. Bidders in the latest round asked for about 7.32 cents per kilowatt-hour, close to the maximum allowed subsidy.

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