North American solar PPA prices climb to US$61.67/MWh, European prices continue to fall

However, the 3.2% quarter-on-quarter growth in solar is notable as this is a much higher rate of growth than for blended PPAs, and a sharp contrast to the decline in average prices for wind PPAs. In the third quarter, the average solar PPA price reached US$59.77/MWh, meaning the month-on-month price increase amounts to more than one dollar per megawatt-hour.

All three technology types have seen fairly consistent price increases since the start of the year and the beginning of president Trump’s second term; wind began the year with an average price below US$65/MWh, while blended PPAs saw an average price of just over US$60/MWh and solar an average price of less than US$60/MWh.

“Immense regulatory headwinds have persisted,” said LevelTen in its analysis of the North American PPA space. “Uncertainties related to the ongoing Section 232 tariffs investigation are adding development costs, and harsh new federal-level permitting procedures have stalled substantial amounts of development across the country.”

The analyst named both Section 232 and the Foreign Eneity of Concern (FEOC) rules as examples of US policy uncertainty that have created confusion in the US renewable power sector, and which have been covered extensively on PV Tech in recent months.

However, the average North American offtake prices are much more closely bunched for non-market-averaged prices, which consider all offtake deals recorded in North America, without granting additional weight to deals signed within the grids of larger ISO, such as ERCOT and CAISO. For the non-market-averaged prices, wind, blended and solar PPAs all recorded average prices within a dollar of each other—US$53.85/MWh, US$53.06/MWh and US$53.03/MWh, respectively—and marks the second consecutive quarter for which average solar PPA prices have fallen quarter-on-quarter.

European PPA prices continue to fall

Meanwhile, average renewable energy offtake prices have been on the decline in Europe, according to a second LevelTen report published last week. This report shows that the average market-averaged price of a solar PPA reached €57.44/MWh (US$68.14/MWh), a figure that is higher than in North America, but shows a very clear difference in trend in both the long- and short-term.

For instance, the average price of a solar PPA signed in Europe, based on LevelTen’s market-averaged continental price figures, has fallen from just under €80/MWh at the end of 2022 to the most recent figure of €57.44/MWh, a trend that is reflected in similar price declines for both the wind and blended sectors. More recently, the average solar PPA price in Europe, based on the same index, fell by €0.76/MWh between the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

LevelTen suggests that the longstanding trend of price declines has been influenced by a demand for renewable power that lags behind supply, alongside the “continued increase in low and negative power prices across many European markets”. A similar report from fellow analyst Pexapark called negative prices and price cannibalisation “persistent [and] systemic” features of the European market last week.

LevelTen also suggested that there could be significant change to Europe’s power and grid infrastructure, and by extension prices, in the coming months as the European Commission looks to deliver its “Grids Package”, a proposal made in December to improve connection infrastructure across the continent. The analyst will host a webinar later this week to discuss further insights into its latest European PPA report.

PV Tech publisher Solar Media will host the 13th edition of the Solar Finance & Investment Europe event in London this week, on 3 – 4 February 2026. This event annually attracts infrastructure funds, institutional investors, asset managers, banks and development platforms at the forefront of European renewables. For more details, visit the website.