Most European wholesale electricity markets experienced price gains in July 2025, both month on month and year on year amid increased weather-driven demand as summer heat waves gathered pace.
Comparing the first seven months of 2024 and 2025, we see higher average prices across most hours of the day, except for hours in the middle of the day when solar generation tends to peak.
The number of zero-or-negative price hours have increased year on year in the first six months of 2025, especially in continental Europe. However, July 2025 proved an exception, with the number of those hours plummeting across the board due to increased demand for cooling during peak solar generation hours. For example, Spain saw only 30 such hours last month compared to 86 in June 2025 and 57 in July 2024.
A lower number of zero-or-negative prices pushed solar capture rates up, especially for Germany, with average monthly values around 68 % after the record low 31 % rate observed in June 2025.
In Spain, the monthly solar capture rate rose above 60 % for the first time since February 2025. However, so far this year, the average rate remains low at 53 %, down from an average 62 % in the same period last year.
Onshore wind capture rates improved in Germany but decreased in Spain and France month on month, with an overall increase year on year in all three markets.
Solar and onshore wind generation rose both month on month and year on year in key markets such as Spain. In Germany, solar production inched down compared to June 2025 to 9.1 TWh but remained stable year on year.
The country’s solar expansion remains on track with a total of 7.1 GW coming online in H1 ‘25, slightly above the 6.6 GW added in the same period last year. On the other hand, German onshore wind additions doubled year on year to 1.9 GW in the first six months of 2025.
With 2.4 GW contracted across 24 deals, July 2025 marked the third most active month in terms of contracted capacity in the European PPA market to date, according to Veyt’s database. This marks an increase 0.7 GW capacity and two deals compared to the fairly active June 2025.
The higher activity was driven by increased interest in large route-to-market PPAs. The average deal size increased to 120 MW, with five deals exceeding 200 MW. In addition, a Power Storage Agreement (PSA) for 412 MW comprising 13 battery storage facilities was also reported.
Contracted capacity for solar PPAs in July reached 1.7 GW across 13 deals. In addition, Veyt’s database reports five onshore wind deals, totalling 252 MW, followed by two multi-technology PPAs combining solar and onshore wind totalling 313 MW as well as one hybrid deal comprising solar and battery storage with 170 MW.
In addition, two hydro PPAs delivering a total volume of 6 TWh over 10 years and one waste-to-power deal delivering 1.2 TWh over 16 years were also recorded.
The UK reported a total of three PPAs, of which two are route-to-market deals for solar generation. Spain remained one of the most active markets in July with four deals, including its second-to-date hybrid PPA for solar and battery storage.
The usual markets with high activity were only surpassed by Ireland, where utility Bord Gáis Energy signed six route-to-market PPAs for delivery of more than 600 MW of solar and onshore wind capacity.
Multiple deals were also signed in Italy (3), Portugal (2), France (2) and Norway (2).
Statkraft was the most active player in July, signing PPAs on both the seller and buyer side across Europe, but also cancelling existing contracts in Norway.
In Italy, Statkraft is the offtaker for three new PPAs, two for a share of the output from onshore wind farms that were previously supported by government subsidies and one combining output from three operational solar farms.
In the UK, the Norwegian utility is on the offtaker side of a large Power Storage Agreement (PSA). In Poland, Statkraft acts as the seller in a deal with Unilever for 26 GWh of renewable electricity.
In Norway, the company terminated three contracts linked to almost 1 GW of hydrogen production demand. The three affected hydrogen projects by Fortescue (300 MW green hydrogen in Hemnes), Aker Horizon (600 MW green ammonia in Narvik) and Inovyn (20 MW green hydrogen in Rafnes) had secured deals with the utility in 2023 but failed to materialise or faced delays.
Irish utility Bord Gáis Energy signed six PPAs for 590 MW of solar capacity and 40 MW of onshore wind capacity, providing route-to-market to the projects which have secured Contracts for Difference (CfDs) under the country’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). Once all projects under the PPAs are operational, Bord Gáis Energy will be Ireland’s largest offtaker of solar power.
Zelestra and EDP signed the second-to-date hybrid PPA in Spain for 170 MW of solar capacity and 400 MWh of battery storage.
A third in a row of Waste-to-Power PPAs by waste and water management company Suez was signed with RATP, following two deals in June 2025 with food chain Carrefour and Bouygues Telecom. The three deals combined will deliver 200 GWh annually from 2026 until 2040.
ElectroRoute and SmartestEnergy are on the offtaker site of two of the largest route-to-market PPAs recorded in the UK, covering a total of 762 MW solar capacity.
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