The UK and Ireland were the two countries to sign the highest number of renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) in May, according to Swiss consultancy Pexapark.
Four PPAs were signed in the UK, covering a total volume of 113MW, followed by Ireland with two (49.3MW). France was the only other European country to sign more than one PPA, with two for 26.9MW.
Overall, Europe signed only 280MW of renewable energy PPAs in May, representing the lowest capacity of PPAs signed in Europe since 2020, according to Pexapark’s monthly ‘PPA Times’ report. This is also an almost 80% drop from the previous month in terms of capacity, and a 45% drop in number of deals signed.
Corporate PPAs contributed the most in May, with 184MW, compared to only 48MW of utility PPAs. The largest deal signed in May was for a solar PPA between state-owned transport company Network Rail and French utility EDF Renewables in the UK. 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.
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).
The full version of this article is available on our sister publication, PV Tech.
