A new report reveals that public energy auctions and corporate PPAs accounted for 92 GW of solar installations in the EU between 2022 and 2025. That’s the equivalent power capacity for 28 million EU homes, which represents over 10% of European households. If auctions and cPPAs were a single country, it would have installed more than three times the solar that Spain installed in the same timeframe (27.6 GW).
The analysis demonstrates how long-term contracts offered a clear lifeline to EU businesses and citizens in the wake of the 2022 energy crisis, even as these contracts have started to face headwinds. As a new fossil energy crisis enfolds, and the EU solar roll-out is under pressure, SolarPower Europe’s latest report underlines that Europe must ensure healthy continuity for auctions and PPAs.
Dries Acke, Deputy CEO at SolarPower Europe (he/him) said: “EU leaders are looking for effective ways to enhance energy price competitiveness and shield Europe from a yet another fossil fuel price crisis. They already have proven solutions in the form of corporate PPAs and auctions which award contracts for difference. It’s now more crucial than ever that Europe boosts industrial electrification and access to PPAs, while also ensuring that auctions are well-designed to avoid missed opportunities and undersubscription. One clear short-cut? Making sure that storage is properly integrated across these two vital solar routes to market.”
The ‘Auctions and Corporate PPAs: European Market Review 2025’ report analyses the first half of the 2020s, where the first years were marked by systemic barriers to solar auction performance. Solar auction performance had a peak of 14.8 GW in 2021 but subsequently dropped during 2022-2023. This drop highlights the shortcomings in auction designs of EU countries, where heightened equipment costs arising from the energy crisis were met with insufficiently low ceiling tariffs, unfit technology-neutral auction schemes, lengthy administrative procedures and sometimes complex non-price criteria.
Post 2023, solar auctions rebounded, with a record 25.2 GW of solar installed through auctions and tenders in 2025, a 23% increase compared to 2024 and a new historical high. This shows the type of rapid turnaround and growth that is possible with auction design improvements. However, further improvement is still needed. Between 2021-2025 nearly half of EU auction rounds attracted bids below the capacity on offer, highlighting a major missed opportunity for accelerating solar deployment.
Simon Dupond, Senior Policy Advisor at SolarPower Europe (he/him) said:“To ensure that auctions can continue playing their growing role in driving solar deployment, EU policymakers should prioritise improving auction frameworks, supporting technology-specific tenders, providing long-term investment visibility, and considering energy storage into public support design”
Looking at the corporate PPA market, there is a slightly different story. In the immediate aftermath of the energy crisis in 2023 and 2024, solar PPAs experienced successive boom years. In 2025, however, announced corporate PPA volumes for solar PV fell below the previous year’s record for the first time in several years.
PPA market health varies in Europe. In several countries, structural constraints such as price cannibalisation, grid congestion and curtailment are decreasing the uptake of PPAs. Germany clearly illustrates these dynamics, with signed solar corporate PPA volumes declining by 56%. It’s also true that, as low-hanging fruit has largely driven the uptake of PPAs, now corporate demand for clean electricity at stable prices relies on new or newly electrified industrial users.
Spain remains a notable exception and continues to lead the European PPA market, with more than 2 GW of corporate solar PPAs signed annually between 2023 and 2025. Italy, Poland and Bulgaria have also recorded strong growth. These countries still rely heavily on gas-fired generation and therefore face comparatively high wholesale electricity prices, incentivising their uptake of PPAs.
The ‘Auctions and Corporate PPAs: European Market Review 2025’ makes five policy recommendations to maximise the positive impact that solar PPAs and energy auctions can have on Europe’s energy security and competitiveness:
Ensure a level-playing field between all routes-to-market
Solar project developers should be able to use PPAs or participate in energy auctions as suits their business needs. Regulatory frameworks should not exclude access to either financing strategy, and any effort which seeks to combine the two methods should be done very carefully.
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Tailor auctions and tenders to asset and system needs
Every auction conducted in Europe should be allocating as much renewable energy as possible. To avoid undersubscription, auctions should be technology specific as that makes it easier to design and recognise the different structural conditions and benefits of wind and solar. Resilience criteria should be sensibly applied and avoid slowing deployment. Investors should be able to count on and plan around transparent forward planning and auction schedules. Finally, smaller installations below 1 MW should remain exempt from mandatory tendering requirements.
Integrate energy system flexibility in long-term hedging contracts
The growing frequency of negative price hours, rising curtailment, and increasing grid congestion are mounting pressure on the design of renewable support schemes and on the appetite for private long-term agreements. Addressing these challenges can be achieved without undermining investment certainty through unnecessary or distortive market interventions. The fast-track solution is ensuring that energy storage, particularly battery storage, is recognised and integrated under PPAs and auction frameworks.
Ensure fair treatment of PPAs in EU carbon accounting rules
EU carbon accounting methodologies must recognise market instruments used in corporate energy procurement as a route to decreasing carbon footprints. The EU should ensure there is a uniform approach to measure the carbon footprint of a product, starting with EV batteries and PV-modules, which recognises clean and renewable power purchase agreements and guarantees of origin.
Boost electricity demand with electrification across all sectors
Electrification rates in the EU are stagnating, leaving the majority of energy consumption still reliant on burning fossil fuels, including many industrial processes. A comprehensive EU electrification strategy must tackle economic and regulatory barriers hindering industry electrification, including a fairer and more competitive tax regime for electricity.
