According to data from the Swiss consulting firm Pexapark, the price of European Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) decreased by 0.6% between July and August this year.
Based on the first report from the “Pexapark Brief,” the European composite index used for PPA prices fell to €48.78 per megawatt-hour by the end of August, down from €49.09 per MWh at the end of July .
This autumn, Poland saw the most significant decline, with its average PPA price dropping by 2.9% month-on-month, while France’s PPA price also fell by 2.5% during the same period .
Pexapark indicated that this is related to decreased coal contract prices in Poland, particularly affecting energy prices within the country’s so-called “heat-dominated power mix” . However, the situation in Germany was different, where the average PPA price increased by 1% between July and August .
The 2.9% drop in Polish PPA prices contributed to the overall decline in European PPA prices .
Although the consulting firm has not yet released composite data for September, it noted that the pace of new PPAs has accelerated significantly. Europe signed only 9 PPAs in August with a capacity of 450 MW, whereas 12 deals were completed in the first three weeks of September . These transactions cover 421.3 MW of capacity, suggesting that the contracted PPA volume for September will be at least on par with August’s level .
Solar power played a significant role in both months, with 150 MW of solar agreements signed in August and 100 MW of solar PPAs signed in September, each being the largest capacity transaction for their respective months . In fact, half of the deals signed in September were for solar projects .
Compared to the 1.4 GW of capacity signed in June, this pace represents a slowdown. However, it shows significant growth compared to the 178 MW signed in May and is closer to the signing volumes seen in the early months of the year . Nonetheless, the capacities signed in August and September 2024 were 474 MW and 1.1 GW respectively, both higher than current levels .
