{"id":156088,"date":"2025-06-20T10:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pv-tech.org\/?p=156088"},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:39:18","slug":"finding-creative-solutions-europes-solar-financing-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pv-tech.org\/finding-creative-solutions-europes-solar-financing-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding creative solutions to Europe\u2019s solar PV financing challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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‘[The NZIA] is not quite what it originally intended but there are definitely parts that are supportive,’ said David Ward, second right. Image: Solar Media.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need to be creative,\u201d Elena Donzelli, PPA transaction manager at Pexapark told PV Tech Premium<\/em> at this year\u2019s Intersolar Europe event, held in Munich in May. Her comments came not in response to matters such as policy impact or project design, but an aspect of the European solar sector perhaps not often associated with creativity: financial mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, her comments follow a growing interest in developing more innovative and creative financial mechanisms to make the best use of the world\u2019s growing solar capacity: more nuanced offtake agreements was discussed at Intersolar as a key tool to minimise risk<\/a>, and speakers at Solar Media\u2019s Renewables Procurement & Revenue Summit told PV Tech Premium<\/em> that more trust is a key aspect of changing power purchase agreement (PPA) priorities<\/a> in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring financial mechanisms are fit for purpose are particularly important, considering the massive investments being made into the global solar sector, which are pushing equally record-breaking deployments. A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that the world invested US$503 billion into solar PV in 2024, more than the US$426 billion invested into all other generation technologies combined, highlighting the phenomenal interest in deploying new solar projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, SolarPower Europe notes that the world added a record 597GW of new solar capacity in 2024, a 33% year-on-year increase, and the latest in a trend of sustained growth in project deployment. If these trends are to continue, many of the financial challenges discussed at this year\u2019s Intersolar event will need to be overcome, and perhaps some of the creative solutions to market problems will need to be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A changing financial landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Donzelli\u2019s comments followed a presentation given by her colleague, Itamar Orlandi, who discussed how so-called hybrid deals, those involving a single offtake agreement for multiple generation technologies, had become a cornerstone of the European PPA space. When asked if she had seen similar trends, and if such deals had become an important part of the changing European financial landscape<\/a>, Donzelli agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen in 2024 is that, compared to previous years, there was a very big increase in hybrid deals, especially solar-plus-wind, but also co-location with storage,\u201d Donzelli told PV Tech Premium<\/em>. \u201cEspecially in Spain, in response to the problem of only solar not being such an attractive profile anymore; including wind was improving the business case for developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this is something we will see for sure this year, until some of the issues with the profile of solar will improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring the business case remains strong is a key priority for investors and developers alike, not just in a vacuum, but in order to make projects stand out in an increasingly competitive PPA space. According to Pexapark, each month between December 2024 and April 2025 saw at least 20 deals struck in the European PPA space, for a total of 6.6GW of capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the number of deals signed fell to just 12 in May, earlier sustained interest in signing agreements highlights the increasing importance of building a robust business case for an offtake agreement, particularly, as Donzelli said, considering the variable nature of renewable power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a problem that will ever go away, but there are tweaks you can do with your solar asset that can make it attractive and have a good revenue case,\u201d said Donzelli. \u201cAdding a battery is one of the options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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