Operational projects now account for almost 40% of standalone power purchase agreement (PPA) offers in Europe, according to LevelTen Energy’s Q3 2026 PPA Price Index, published on 22 October. For wind offers the share is closer to 60%. It is the first edition of the index to include operational projects, which until now were left out.
LevelTen Energy, a US-based PPA marketplace, links the shift to rising gas prices. Plácido Ostos, the company’s Director of European Analytics, said operational assets carry lower risk and fewer permitting and development hurdles than new builds, and can start delivering power and guarantees of origin immediately. For buyers who prioritise speed and price over additionality claims, he said, such deals can be more attractive.
Prices moved little in the quarter. The European-average 25th percentile (P25) for solar PPAs rose by 0.4% to 0.86 on the new Continental Index, meaning a typical solar PPA is priced at 86% of its Q3 2024 level. Wind reached 0.99, which LevelTen describes as part of a steady recovery since late 2025 after a sharp fall in both wind and solar prices over the preceding twelve months. Ostos said the data confirms a price premium for wind over solar in many markets, because wind’s flatter output profile is less exposed to midday price cannibalisation.
In Germany, the P25 of hybrid PPA offers fell by 12.7% to EUR 65.50/MWh, the largest decline among the markets on LevelTen’s Hybrid Index. Pieter van der Meulen, the company’s Country Manager for Germany, said falling battery costs and growing bank acceptance of hybrid structures make solar-plus-storage contracts easier to finance, and cited historically low gas-storage levels as a reason for urgency.
The methodology also changed. The Continental Index is no longer expressed in EUR/MWh but sets prices from eight quarters earlier at 1.00, so a 10% fall reads 0.90. Market-level prices are still shown in EUR/MWh. The figures come from LevelTen’s own platform and have not been independently verified.
