Electricity markets have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with demand falling across many European grids. The Market Roundtable session of pv magazine’s Roundtables Europe 2020 program addressed what this means for solar PPAs.
The good news: while the crisis may lead to a pause in PPA finalization, it does not undermine the fundamentals of action on climate change and solar’s ever increasing competitiveness – as speakers from Vattenfall set out during the event. Indeed, a European Green Deal may give further impetus to the market.
Another looming trend is the uptake of hydrogen, as a versatile energy storage medium. Smartenergy set out the business case and economics for hydrogen electrolysis and enabling infrastructure in Europe including the message: with projects taking 3-4 years to build, the time to act is now.