
LevelTen Energy’s Q4 European PPA Price Index Report showed a continued decline for solar prices and a slight increase for wind power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Q4 of 2024.
Key takeaways from this quarter’s report:
- Solar Prices Continue to Drop In Q4
European solar PPA prices have been on a steady declining trajectory over the last two years, as the energy sector continues to return to relative normalcy following the continent’s energy crisis. In Q4, LevelTen’s Market-Averaged Continental Solar Index declined by 2% compared to Q3, with price declines in nearly every solar market featured on our Q4 Index.
- Q4 Sees Wind Prices Temper
Europe’s wind sector continues to regain its footing after a difficult few years of supply chain snarls, inflationary challenges, and financing turbulence. After dropping for several consecutive quarters, LevelTen’s Market-Averaged Continental Wind Index nudged up by 1% in Q4. On a year-over-year basis, Market-Averaged wind prices have gone down by 9%.
- A Mixed Political Picture
2024 was a complex year for European politics. The Labour Party’s victory in the UK seems poised to usher in an exciting new chapter of clean energy development there. Already, the removal of the country’s longstanding “de facto ban” on onshore wind, paired with more ambitious climate policies more broadly that should support clean energy buildout there.
In France, political tides seem to be turning in a different direction. A no-confidence vote in December forced the resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, as budgetary concerns create worries about the financial viability of the country’s renewable subsidy scheme; compelling more developers there to explore PPA options. December also brought a no-confidence vote in Germany, leading to the dissolution of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition and prompting a snap election in February. Needless to say, political crises in the EU’s two biggest economies is cause for concern, and is contributing to a heightened degree of regulatory uncertainty.
- Europe’s PPA Market Going Strong
For corporate renewable energy buyers in Europe, the continuing trend of moderating PPA prices is welcome news. With European wholesale electricity markets growing more volatile as the energy transition evolves, fixed-price contracts provide financial certainty for corporate buyers, along with a steady stream of the GOs they need to reach their Scope 2 emissions goals.
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About LevelTen Energy
LevelTen Energy delivers the marketplaces, software, automated analytics, and expertise required to accelerate clean energy transactions. The LevelTen Platform is the world’s largest online hub for renewable energy buyers, sellers, advisors, asset owners and financiers. The Platform includes the LevelTen Energy Marketplace, which delivers access to thousands of power purchase agreement price offers spanning 28 countries in North America and Europe. It also includes the LevelTen Asset Marketplace, which brings together over 850 renewable energy project developers and owners, and delivers the online tools and expertise they need to buy, sell and finance assets in North America and Europe. Together, LevelTen and its partners share #OneGoal to accelerate the energy transition. Visit LevelTenEnergy.com to learn more.