Pexapark

Swiss consulting firm Pexapark noted a rise in European power purchase agreement (PPA) prices in March, for the first monthly increase since August 2023. It recorded 18 PPAs in March, totaling 718 MW, with solar accounting for 398 MW across nine deals.

Pexapark, a Swiss consulting firm, says the new year started with “robust activity” for power purchase agreements (PPAs). It says that lower power and commodity prices drove a 12.8% month-on-month decline in all tracked PPA prices.

The European market for power purchase agreements (PPAs) reached 16.2 GW in contracted volumes in 2023, up 40% year on year. Pexapark, a Swiss consulting firm, says the result marks a “golden era” for European PPAs, as it predicts the market to surpass 20 GW in 2024.

Charles Lesser, who leads UK operations at Apricum, and Apricum Project Manager Alexandra Popova explain why the renewables consultancy is predicting a big rise in solar-plus-storage projects in Great Britain.

Pexapark says power purchase agreement (PPA) prices are falling in Europe, with prices in Spain and Portugal down by 6.4% and 6.2% to €40.90 ($43.99)/MWh and €39.60/MWh, respectively.

Power purchase agreements (PPAs) are growing in popularity in Poland due to high energy prices and the declining appeal of renewable energy auctions. Nevertheless, regulatory changes have created uncertainty and reduced attractiveness.

Swiss consultancy Pexapark says falling energy prices, lower heating needs, and healthy gas reserves have had a calming effect on the European power purchase agreement (PPA) market. It foresees an increase in transactions over the short term.

The rising popularity of “baseload” power purchase agreements (PPAs) has posed questions to solar electricity suppliers in the German market. How can projects that do not generate at night, and with wide seasonal output variation, effectively supply constant power to consumers? More importantly, who shoulders the price risk?

The European Union’s much-needed emergency measures to tackle the ongoing energy crisis may have unintended consequences for the region’s renewable energy ambitions, warn analysts, but the impact on power purchase agreements will likely vary, depending on the contracts.

There is enormous demand for renewables to enter the grid, and for power purchase agreements to make use of them. However, as more renewables feed into the grid at intermittent periods, the risk of “revenue cannibalization” increases. Swiss consultancy Pexapark’s latest report looks at the “cannibalization effect” and how the solar PPA market can adapt.