Europe signed only 280MW of renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) in May, according to Swiss consultancy Pexapark.
This represents the lowest capacity of PPAs signed in Europe since 2020, according to Pexapark’s monthly ‘PPA Times’ report, and represents a nearly 80% drop from the previous month. The number of deals also dropped on a monthly basis by 45% to 12, which is at a similar level to most of 2022.
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Only three countries signed more than one PPA in May. The UK had the most with four PPAs, for a volume of 113MW, followed by Ireland with two (49.3MW) and France also with two (26.9MW). Corporate PPAs contributed the most in May, with 184MW, compared to only 48MW of utility PPAs.
Solar PV PPAs accounted for the majority of the volume with 174MW across nine deals. The largest deal signed in May was for a solar PPA between state-owned transport company Network Rail and French utility EDF Renewables, as covered by our sister site Solar Power Portal. The offtake agreement was for 64GWh of solar PV annually for a 14-year period, which Pexapark estimates to be 65MW.
Another notable solar PPA signed in the UK last month came from pub chain Marston, which will deploy rooftop solar across 120 of its pubs under a PPA model financed by investment company Atrato Onsite Energy.
French telecoms company Iliad Group signed four of the 12 PPAs in May, three of which included solar PV and comprised a total volume of 60MW. The PPAs were spread across three countries, with two in France and one each in Poland and Italy. These three countries were the same ones with which the French company signed PPAs earlier in the year. In February, it signed nearly 90MW of solar PV PPAs with French utility Engie and Norwegian energy company Statkraft.
According to Pexapark, the Iliad Group has contracted 166.2MW of PPAs across eight deals this year.
Despite the drop in PPAs signed, both in volume and number, Pexapark’s Europe composite price of PPAs slightly increased by 1.2% from the previous month, with an average of €49.3/MWh (US$56.5/MWh). Poland led the way with a 4.6% month-on-month increase, whereas France is at the other end with a 1.3% decrease. According to Pexapark, the price increase in Poland was due to a recovery in power futures and improved market sentiment.
