The latest Europe Renewables PPA Tracker report from Wood Mackenzie highlights a surge in PPA activity, with Spain and Germany leading the market, accounting for 30% of total capacity. Solar PV and wind projects represented approximately 80% of contracted capacity, with each technology contributing similar volumes. Poland, the UK and Greece entered the top five across all deal types (corporate, route-to-market and utility).

As the PPA market matures, innovative contractual arrangements are becoming more prevalent. Notably, there’s an increase in deals involving renewables co-located with battery storage, addressing the challenge of negative pricing periods, the report finds.  

‘We’re seeing a shift towards more sophisticated PPA structures,’ comments Dan Eager, Research Director, European Power & Renewables, Wood Mackenzie. ‘While still a small part of the overall market, hybrid storage arrangements that combine renewables and batteries in a single contract are gaining traction, particularly among energy-intensive industries and data centres seeking 24/7 energy matching.’

The report notes that corporate PPAs continued to dominate the market, representing over 70% of the regional market, with route-to-market deals the next most common. ‘The technology and data sectors were the primary drivers of offtake activity in 2024,’ notes Eager. ‘These power-intensive businesses are increasingly relying on PPAs to sustain their future operations and meet sustainability goals.’

The report describes a complex pricing environment at the start of 2025, influenced by factors such as curtailment risk, negative pricing and retail price evolution. While PPA prices declined in 2024 alongside wholesale power prices, the outlook varies by region and technology.

‘Our analysis shows that Iberian markets offer particularly appealing conditions for both solar PV and onshore wind PPAs,’ Eager explains.

Wood Mackenzie’s fair value outlook for 2026 suggests continued opportunities for competitive PPA arrangements, especially in solar PV and select onshore wind markets. The report also anticipates the emergence of hydrogen PPAs in Europe, contingent on regulatory clarity.

Eager concludes: ‘The growing influence of low-cost renewables on wholesale price formation, particularly in spring and summer, is leading to increased volatility and uncertainty. Our wholesale market modelling indicates that capture rates* are set to decrease over the next five to seven years as demand growth lags [behind] renewable supply additions and the flexible capabilities of markets are stretched. Over this period average market prices will also be falling as European gas prices decline. In turn, the capture price and risk components in PPA pay-as-nominated prices will evolve.’

Geothermal energy for Google’s operations in Taiwan  

Geothermal developer Baseload Capital and Google have signed the first corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) for geothermal energy in Taiwan.

The partnership’s initial projects will add 10 MW of clean energy to the grid, doubling Taiwan’s current geothermal capacity in commercial operation. Once operational in 2029, the projects will supply capacity to help power local data centre operations and offices.

The partnership will also include an equity investment by Google in Baseload Capital to support the company’s efforts to scale geothermal energy. 

*Capture rate, also known as a capture factor, measures the market value captured by a renewable energy project relative to a baseload market price.