Why is this workstream important?  

The Markets & Investment Workstream plays a crucial role in ensuring that the solar industry can maintain a sustainable business case in the future. After months of deliberation on the Electricity Market Design Review in response to an energy crisis, we now have a practical framework that we must be swiftly and thoroughly implemented to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy. Key provisions include Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and two-way Contracts for Difference (CfDs), which will play a vital role in advancing renewable energy deployment. These mechanisms will help secure long-term price stability for consumers while enhancing industrial competitiveness.  

Solar energy played a crucial role during the energy crisis, demonstrating its efficient and rapid development with exponential growth. However, we are now entering a phase where signs of a slowdown are becoming evident. The Markets & Investments Workstream will closely collaborate with other SolarPower Europe workstreams to ensure favourable market conditions and establish a stable regulatory and investment environment, fostering confidence among investors in solar technology. 

At the same time, we are entering a new European era where Green Deal targets must be balanced with competitiveness considerations, particularly for our European industry. Electro-intensive consumers have advocated for a European Industrial Deal along with affordable and stable energy prices, which the European Commission will prioritise from 2025 onwards and beyond. In the context of EU competitiveness, the workstream’s role becomes increasingly crucial in ensuring an efficient market design and fostering a favourable investment framework for renewables, with a particular focus on solar technology. 

What will the future of the Markets and Investments Workstream look like?  

The Clean Industrial Deal and the competitiveness of European industry will be pivotal topics in 2025, shaping many debates within the energy sector, including electricity market design. In the short term, our efforts will focus on maintaining a favourable framework for solar operations by advocating for the swift implementation of the recently updated Electricity Market Design, with particular emphasis on PPAs and CfDs. We will also closely monitor potential new initiatives that could negatively impact solar technology and its deployment.  

Together with other relevant workstreams, we will help to draw attention to the increasing need for flexibility options and propose solutions to ensure that PV can be deployed in a system-friendly manner. For example, the workstream will actively contribute to deliverables that demonstrate the benefits of solar-hybrid projects and work to remove existing regulatory barriers. Over the course of 2025 and beyond, we will also contribute to the Commission's forthcoming initiative on renewables and storage, as well as other key initiatives, such as the review of the state aid framework.