Planning · Power Marketing · Post-EEG Option

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Wind Energy

A PPA is a long-term power supply contract between a wind farm operator and an off-taker (typically an industrial customer). It is the standard marketing route after EEG expiry — and increasingly an alternative to the EEG market premium for new installations as well.

Three PPA Types

Type	Power Flow	Practice
Physical PPA	Direct power flow from wind farm to off-taker	Where sites are close (e.g. aluminium smelter directly adjacent)
Financial PPA	Cash flow only, no physical power delivery. Difference payments between agreed PPA price and market price	Most common form, location-independent
Sleeved PPA	Power flow via a utility as intermediary, which assumes balancing group risks	Very common in practice — utility as intermediary

Current PPA Prices Onshore Wind 2026

Term	Pay-as-Produced	Baseload-Structured
5 years	50–65 €/MWh	60–80 €/MWh
10 years	45–60 €/MWh	55–75 €/MWh
15 years	40–55 €/MWh	50–70 €/MWh

“Pay-as-Produced” = power is sold as generated (volatile). “Baseload-Structured” = delivery is reshaped to constant load via storage/gas backup — significantly higher prices because marketing risk is covered.

PPA Buyer Types

Energy-intensive industry: Aluminium (TRIMET, NorAl), steel (Salzgitter, ArcelorMittal), chemicals (BASF, Dow)
Data centre operators: Microsoft, Google, AWS — very active in the PPA market
Utilities for their own retail portfolio (RWE, EnBW, Vattenfall)
On-site consumers: industrial facilities with direct grid connection

PPA vs. EEG Market Premium

	EEG Market Premium	PPA
Remuneration	Auction cap 7.35 ct/kWh	4–6.5 ct/kWh
Term	20 years guaranteed	5–15 years negotiable
Bankability	Very high	Depends on buyer creditworthiness
Risk	Negative-price hours without market premium	Buyer credit risk, price risk after contract end
Complexity	Standard BNetzA process	Individual negotiation, lawyer-intensive

Combination possible: Some projects combine the EEG market premium for the first 20 years with a PPA follow-on from year 21 onwards. This eliminates post-EEG risk early on.

PPA for wind energy: three contract types (Physical direct, Financial difference settlement, Sleeved via utility). Prices 2026 onshore wind by term: 5 years 50-65 EUR/MWh, 10 years 45-60, 15 years 40-55 (pay-as-produced). Comparison PPA vs. EEG market premium: remuneration, term, bankability, risk, complexity

PPA for wind energy — contract types, prices and comparison with EEG market premium

Typical PPA Clauses

Minimum/maximum delivery volume per year
Bandwidth corridor (e.g. 80–120 % of expected delivery volume)
Force majeure: extreme weather, regulatory requirements
Balancing group responsibility: usually with the buyer (sleeved) or utility intermediary
Price adjustment clauses: often fixed, occasionally CPI-indexed
Credit security: bank guarantee, parent company guarantee, prepayment options

PPA Brokerage for Your Wind Farm?

We connect you with PPA-specialised energy brokers (Schneider Electric, Statkraft, Axpo) — buyer search, structuring, contract negotiation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are PPAs suitable for repowering projects?

Rarely as primary marketing route — banks prefer financing against EEG market premium due to credit stability. PPAs are the standard option for the post-EEG phase or for top-tier sites without an EEG award.

What happens after PPA expiry?

Extension or new PPA with a different buyer, or spot market marketing. The electricity market outlook for 2030+ is the central uncertainty in investment appraisals.

Who bears the volume risk?

Under “pay-as-produced” the buyer does (they take whatever comes). Under “baseload-structured” the seller does (they must reshape output to constant load via storage/backup).