CfD

The European Parliament has adopted electricity market reforms aimed at making the European Union’s electricity market more stable, affordable, and sustainable. The reforms include a focus on two-way contracts for difference (CfD), a mechanism to declare electricity price crises, and protections for consumers against volatile prices.

Romania has set a ceiling price of €91 ($99.33)/MWh for solar energy in its first renewables auction. A legal analyst tells pv magazine that this strike price is a good level for the nation’s first contract-for-difference (CfD) auction, but warns that certain aspects of the draft legislation could significantly affect the bankability of the scheme.

Electricity market liberalization and private sector development of solar and energy storage in Cyprus continue to be delayed. pv magazine’s Ilias Tsagas looks at why independent power producers are frustrated by electricity curtailment and a lack of market reform.

The European Commission has approved €3 billion ($3.9 billion) for solar and onshore wind projects in Romania, with two-way contracts-for-difference through competitive bidding procedures.

The European market for power purchase agreements (PPAs) reached 16.2 GW in contracted volumes in 2023, up 40% year on year. Pexapark, a Swiss consulting firm, says the result marks a “golden era” for European PPAs, as it predicts the market to surpass 20 GW in 2024.

A latecomer to the European PV party, Romania’s embrace of clean energy means it is perfectly placed to ride the wave of urgently ramped grid investment being rolled out by the European Union.

Charles Lesser, who leads UK operations at Apricum, and Apricum Project Manager Alexandra Popova explain why the renewables consultancy is predicting a big rise in solar-plus-storage projects in Great Britain.

The UK government has announced the results of its latest renewable energy auction, originally planned for 2022. It was accessible to installations exceeding 5 MW in size, with 56 solar projects securing 15-year contracts-for-difference (CfDs).

Carbon Brief has estimated that the United Kingdom would have needed to import 20 TWh less natural gas this year if successive Conservative governments had not wound down the rewards for generating solar electricity.

Solar Energy UK members have made positive noises about a plan to shift historic, fixed-payment incentive contracts over to contracts-for-difference deals, which would limit the profits they would receive from soaring energy prices.