Pexapark records 17 European PPAs for 966 MW in April

European developers signed 17 power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a contracted capacity totaling 966 MW in April, according to the latest analysis from Swiss renewables research firm Pexapark.

Last month’s deals included two hybrid solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) PPAs, Pexapark found, including a 150 MW virtual hybrid PPA between Endesa and Sonnedix covering solar and battery assets across both Spain and Portugal.

“While hybrid renewable and BESS PPAs are beginning to emerge more frequently across Europe, activity remains relatively limited, with only six such deals publicly announced to date,” Pexapark’s analysis says.

The largest deal of the month was a hydropower PPA, followed by cross-border virtual PPA linked to a wind project.

Following on from logging over 1 GWh of European storage PPAs in March, Pexapark recorded a further nine BESS-related agreements in April totaling 800 MW/2.8 GWh.

Pexapark says merchant structures continue to dominate activities across European markets, while several flexibility purchase agreements (FPAs) were also announced. Great Britain led in terms of contracted battery storage capacity thanks to the Hams Hall BESS project.

Pexapark’s tracked PPA prices closed at €44.40 ($51.64)/MWh representing a 3% month-on-month decline.

French PPA prices saw the largest monthly drop, down 17.4%, which Pexapark said was driven by a calibration based on the latest forward capture curves for solar and onshore wind. PPAs prices were also down month-on-month in the British (-7.9%), Polish (-6.8%), Dutch (-2.5%), German (-1.9%) and Portuguese (-0.1%) markets.

The Nordic market saw the largest increase in PPA prices, up 6.8%, while Spain and Italy saw monthly price increases of 3.7% and 2.8% respectively.

Recent analysis from Pexapark found solar capture factors in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain have fallen amid an increase in negative electricity prices.