8 February 2024
There was unprecedented growth in 2023 in the European corporate power purchase agreement (PPA), with companies procuring a record number of new renewable energy capacity: 10.4 gigawatts (GW). This marks a remarkable 40% increase from the previous year, highlighting the growing momentum around sustainable energy sourcing among European businesses.
Spain and Germany accounted for approximately 50% of 2023’s volumes
Spain and Germany emerged as frontrunners, collectively accounting for approximately 50% of the total volumes in 2023. Spain retained its position as the largest PPA market. In 2023, PPAs in Spain added an extra 2.77 GW to the energy system. 2nd top last year was Germany with 2.04 GW new capacity. Other significant growth was seen in France (0.78 GW), the United Kingdom (0.62 GW), and Sweden (0.36 GW). Looking ahead, Germany is poised to challenge Spain for the title of the most active PPA market in 2024.
In a significant development, three new countries – Hungary, Slovenia, and Portugal – entered the PPA market in 2023, further diversifying the landscape. This expansion follows the entry of Bulgaria, Croatia, Austria, and Romania into the corporate renewable PPA market in 2022.
Industry diversification fuels corporate renewable growth in 2023
The top corporate offtaker sectors in 2023 were led by heavy industry (2.9 GW), followed by ICT (2.5 GW), retail (0.8 GW), telecoms (0.7 GW), and engineering and technology (0.5 GW). This diversification underscores the attractiveness of PPAs across industries. There was significant PPA growth amongst automotive, food and drinks, and retail companies.
New trends
Multi-buyer PPAs emerged as a notable new trend. By sharing risk, this could be a new pathway for smaller companies to together procure renewables.
2023 also saw the first PPAs combining electricity and storage; and the first PPAs for green hydrogen production.