High development costs and an unstable regulatory environment have increased average solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices in Europe to a new high of €76.84 (US$82.4)/MWh in Q4 2022.
Solar power will dominate new electric-generating capacity additions in the US this year, according to the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.
German IPP SUNfarming Group has extended its relationship with investor HANSAINVEST Real Assets through a €50 million (US$53.8 million) mezzanine financing agreement to develop PV projects in Poland.
Renewables asset owner Brookfield Renewable has reported 2022 net income of US$138 million, improving from a loss in the same period a year earlier of US$66 million. Whilst in Q4 2022, it recorded net income of US$60 million, increasing from US$33 million in Q4 2021.
A round-up of the latest news from the power purchase agreement market, including a virtual PPA between EDF and Thermo Fisher Scientific in Texas, Engie signing a 116MW PPA with Digital Realty in Germany and PG&E securing 30MW of community solar PPAs.
Agrivoltaics developer Pristine Sun Corporation has secured US$250 million in financing to develop and expand its projects in California, Texas and Louisiana, as well as further afield across the continental US.
The solar industry of the future could see frontier markets become core countries for investment while developers may explore more decentralised projects to overcome land challenges.
For large, utility-scale European PV projects, the key to growth and success in the coming years may be in partnerships and consistency across both engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks, as legislators and utilities lag behind the industry’s rapid growth.
