German energy advisory Enervis has told pv magazine the market for unsubsidized large scale solar projects in Europe may grind to a halt thanks to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Senior consultant Tim Steinert said that the consequences of the global outbreak are already visible. “With current spot price … levels in European markets, there is hardly any subsidy-free business model left,” he said. “If you compare current wholesale prices to full costs of the projects, you won’t see any market where a subsidy-free business model is still working in current market conditions. This will hopefully change again by end of this year [or the] beginning of next year.”
Enervis’ Steinert said the current market environment will put most of the unsubsidized PV development pipeline on hold, drying up the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) planned for this year, and possibly next year too. “We hope to see an ease from the end of this year and the beginning of next year but we don’t know yet how power prices driven by demand, CO2 and gas prices will develop in the next months,” said the consultant.