Switzerland based energy utility Axpo has signed what it refers to as one of the very first power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the German solar market for a project that won't require state subsidies. The utility says the 1.5 MW solar power plant was set up by developer and EPC company MaxSolar GmbH and investor SEAC Holding GmbH riding on a PPA signed with its German subsidiary Axpo Deutschland.
The project, located southeast of Munich in southern Bavaria, is generating around 1,570 MWh of clean power annually. For the first 5 years, Axpo Deutschland will purchase power from the park at an unidentified but pre-defined price and market it on a long-term basis.
"Thanks to our power purchase agreements, projects in the field of renewable energies can now be realized without state subsidies. At the same time, we are building a bridge between the renewable energy producers and our full-service customers," said Christoph Bilshausen, Head Origination Axpo Deutschland.
In May 2019, BayWa announced securing a long-term PPA with an unidentified industrial partner for its 8.8 MW Barth V Solar Project in Germany, which it called the country's 'first subsidy-free solar park' while also negotiating terms with other interested parties (see BayWa Building Germany's 1st Subsidy-Free PV Project).
The German solar market is currently based on a feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme which will expire once the country hits cumulative installations of 52 GW. As PV installed capacity stood at 47.72 GW at the end of May 2019, the cap is expected to be reached in 2020 (see Germany Installed 228.8 MW Solar PV In May 2019). Moreover, the first systems are soon reaching the end of their 20-year FIT payments, leaving operates to look for new income sources.
Axpo is getting increasingly serious about solar – it recently completed the acquisition of French PV project developer and asset manager Urbasolar(see Swiss Utility Acquires France's Urbasolar).