Advertise on podcast: The Pexapark Podcast

Welcome back to the Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti is joined by Gerard Reid, founding partner at Alexa Capital and co-host of the Redefining Energy podcast, to discuss why Europe's renewable asset owners are under pressure and who will finance, run, and win with renewables next. Starting from Gerard's recent piece on why asset owners have fallen behind, and the insolvency of German developer and IPP Enerparc, the conversation explores how years of cheap capital turned renewable assets into financial products rather than energy assets. Key themes from the discussion include: Why the yield compression model behind two decades of European renewables has run its courseHow cannibalization, negative prices, and high leverage are squeezing asset ownersWhat owners need to change, from cutting holding company costs to adding batteries and creating demand around their assetsWhy legacy fund and SPV structures limit optimization, and why restructurings look likelyWho could build the next-generation utility, from large utilities and PE-backed IPPs to traders and risk management specialistsWhy access to low-priced, green power will decide where offtake and new demand landIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence, sharing insights from the customer briefing in Milan. Italy became Europe's top solar PPA market for the first time in nine years of tracking, but largely thanks to state-backed schemes, as private deals dried up after regulatory intervention left a lasting risk premium. Solar capture rates remain strong at around 70%, and battery contracting is back, with two large tolling deals totaling 500 MW in the north. With MACSE and FER X auctions due in November and December, Italy remains one of Europe's most interesting markets for investors. NOTES The European Power Market Has Changed While Many Renewable Asset Owners Have Not Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti talks to Genna Boyle, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of EMEA at Gridcog, about how grid connection scarcity is reshaping project design across global energy markets. Gridcog builds simulation software that helps developers, IPPs, and large load clients model co-located and tri-located projects across more than 40 markets, giving Genna a rare cross-market view of what’s working. The conversation compares how Great Britain, Spain, Germany, and Australia are each tackling flexibility and grid utilization differently, and what markets can learn from one another as data center demand adds new pressure on the system. Key themes from the discussion include: Why co-location and tri-location have emerged as leading answers to grid connection scarcityHow market design accelerates or blocks flexibility, from Great Britain’s deep ancillary and capacity markets to Spain’s emerging capacity marketWhy Germany’s “green battery” model protects solar subsidies but misses the winter flexibility the grid needs mostHow collapsing solar capture rates and last year’s blackout are accelerating Spain’s shift toward storage and flexibilityWhy data center demand is prompting new rules, such as Spain’s proposed requirement that 80% of data center power be hourly time-matchedWhat an ideal regulatory playbook would look like: maximizing use of scarce grid connections while keeping price signals strong enough to justify investmentIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He looks at how long-term corporate offtake is reshaping nuclear power, with Pexapark tracking 14 GW of existing nuclear capacity now under new long-term contracts across the US, France, and Finland, more than three-quarters of it signed since January 2025. Every deal in the data set is tied to capex in an existing plant, whether a restart, continued operation, or a life extension, with hyperscalers accounting for roughly two-thirds of contracted capacity since 2025. Luca highlights Finland’s Loviisa deal as the clearest example, where Google’s demand is funding a life extension to 2050 on a plant covering nearly 10% of Finland’s power capacity, tied to a €12 billion data center investment. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti talks to Michael Winterson, CEO of the European Data Centre Association, about how Europe’s data center industry plans to power its next stage of growth. Michael walks through why Europe’s data center market is only about half the size of the US and Chinese markets, why capital is no longer the industry’s bottleneck, and why grid access has become its single biggest constraint, along with why onsite gas generation, common in the US, has little traction in Europe. Key themes from the discussion include: Why Europe’s data center market is about half the size of the US and China, even as growth accelerates to 15–20% a yearHow capital committed to European data centers has more than doubled year over yearWhy grid connection delays, not capital or demand, are now the industry’s central bottleneckWhy onsite gas generation, common in the US, is not seen as a viable path forward in EuropeHow EU programs like the AI Gigafactory initiative and the Cloud and AI Development Act aim to reindustrialize sites and build sovereign digital infrastructureWhy efficiency, sustainability, and additionality rules are making renewable PPAs central to how data centers get rated and permittedIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He looks at wind imbalance costs in the Nordics, which spiked in 2025 before easing through 2026 on 15-minute imbalance settlement, TSO actions, and new Aurora line transmission capacity into northern Sweden, though costs remain above pre-2025 levels in most markets. He then turns to Germany, where competition among direct marketers is compressing fees for solar and wind contracts, with some marketers now paying producers to take their power, particularly for wind in the southwest and, more unusually, for solar in the north. NOTES State of European Data Centres 2026 Report Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to the Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti is joined by David Willemsen, Chief Commercial and Chief Digitalisation Officer at Tion Renewables, to discuss why the yieldco model that once defined listed IPPs is under strain, and what a next-generation IPP looks like when rebuilt from the ground up. The conversation covers how Tion has built out its commercial and energy management teams, why it now develops much of its revenue and reporting software in-house, and where David sees the limits of relying on AI without the right data foundation underneath it. Key themes from the discussion include: Why listed IPPs and yieldcos have been trading below net asset valueHow EQT's 2023 takeover pushed Tion toward rigorous governance and a full IPP operating modelHow Tion structures its commercial, energy management, and data teams into a “revenue organization”What it means to run a “digital IPP,” and which software Tion now builds in-house instead of buyingWhy proprietary data, not the AI tools themselves, is becoming the real differentiatorWhy AI resilience, including provider independence and sound underlying data, matters as automation growsIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He looks at PJM, where an overhauled interconnection process has already qualified roughly 60 GW of battery storage capacity, positioning batteries as the leading resource by project count as capacity valuations climb toward record prices. He then turns to Southeastern Europe, where the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism pulled Western Balkan power prices sharply away from neighboring EU markets before partially converging in the second quarter. Luca highlights the resulting basis risk for cross-border PPAs benchmarked against EU prices, while noting that linking specific non-EU assets to EU buyers through PPAs could unlock new deal activity under the mechanism's rules.  Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti sits down with Alice Cajani, General Manager of Enfinity Energy Europe, to discuss how Italy has become one of Europe's most active and most complex renewables markets. Enfinity has built its Italian business on private PPAs – including deals with Microsoft and Volkswagen – while layering in government-backed mechanisms such as Energy Release and FER X. The conversation explores how these public and private routes to market are starting to overlap, and how the market is shifting from rigid round-the-clock PPAs toward profiled contracts that better match a buyer's real consumption. Key themes from the discussion include: Why government schemes like Energy Release and FER X have driven a surge of activity in the Italian market, and how they are also reshaping pricing expectations for private PPAsHow the Energy Release and FER X mechanisms are structured, and the trade-offs they present for developers, industrials, and investorsWhy the MACSE battery auction has struggled to deliver bankable pricingHow the “Decreto Energia” intervention threatened to move Italian forward prices by as much as €30/MWh, and why deep regulatory expertise helped Enfinity stay ahead of the outcomeWhy the market is moving from round-the-clock renewable PPAs toward profiled PPAs that are built around a buyer's actual consumption curveHow Enfinity Energy Europe is using merchant flexibility and portfolio aggregation to support the bankability of these new profiled structures In the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence, drawing on the firm's first-half review of Europe's clean energy offtake market. After three years of decline, announced PPA volumes edged up 3% to 6.5 GW, even as standalone solar PPAs fell 42% on the back of widespread negative pricing, while mixed wind-and-solar deals more than doubled and offshore wind rebounded in Germany. Data centers and other tech buyers now account for over 40% of disclosed PPA volume, up from 30% a year ago. The standout story, though, is flexibility: disclosed battery offtake volumes reached nearly 6 GW as flexibility purchase agreements surged more than 180%, with Germany overtaking Great Britain as the leading market for battery tolling deals. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! Luca Pedretti is joined by Jens Lievens, CEO, and Kathleen Peters, Product Owner for Energy Transition Services at E&C Group, to explore how corporate energy procurement is changing as volatility, on-site generation, and evolving risk profiles reshape the way businesses buy power. Drawing on E&C Group's experience supporting industrial companies across more than 100 countries, the conversation examines why traditional full-supply contracts are giving way to more active, data-driven approaches to managing energy costs and risk. Key themes from the discussion include: Why traditional full-supply contracts have become less viable in today's energy market How the energy crisis shifted profile risk from suppliers to corporate buyers How behind-the-meter generation and PPAs are reshaping residual supply risk for corporates How procurement strategies are evolving to incorporate greater flexibility and active risk management Why data quality and accurate consumption forecasting are becoming critical to successful procurement Why active energy management can turn increased procurement complexity into a competitive advantageUnlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! Luca Pedretti sits down with Phil Dominy, Director, and Arbaaz Nayeem, Assistant Director, at EY to discuss how corporate PPAs are evolving as buyers place greater emphasis on risk management, price certainty, and commercial flexibility. As market volatility increases and procurement strategies become more sophisticated, the conversation explores how corporate PPAs are adapting to changing sustainability frameworks, evolving commercial structures, and new approaches to managing market risk. Key themes from the discussion include: Why corporate PPAs are increasingly viewed as risk management tools alongside sustainability objectivesHow price certainty is becoming the leading driver of corporate procurement decisionsHow evolving GHG Protocol and SBTi proposals could reshape corporate renewable procurementWhy operational assets and baseload PPAs are gaining traction alongside new-build projectsHow retraded PPAs are helping generators unlock additional trading valueWhy active PPA management, collars, and TBx structures are emerging to help corporates better manage market exposureUnlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti sits down with Sean Boyle, Vice President of Markets at Doral Renewables LLC, to discuss how the US renewable energy market is evolving as AI-driven electricity demand, battery storage, and changing procurement strategies reshape renewable offtake. Drawing on Doral Renewables LLC's experience developing large-scale solar and storage projects across the US, the conversation explores how developers are adapting to changing buyer behavior, new contract structures, and the growing role of co-located solar and storage projects. Key themes from the discussion include:  How AI-driven load growth is reshaping the US renewable PPA market  Why large buyers are changing procurement strategies and contracting timelines  How new capacity-focused procurement models are emerging alongside traditional PPAs  Why co-located solar-plus-storage projects require new commercial structures  How firming renewable generation with storage could reshape future offtake structures  Why transmission constraints remain one of the biggest barriers to renewable deployment In the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He examines how Germany's BESS offtake market has accelerated in the first half of 2026, with contracted volumes already surpassing the total recorded in 2025. The discussion highlights growing demand for Flexibility Purchase Agreements (FPAs), with partial toll structures becoming increasingly common as developers balance financing requirements with merchant exposure. Luca also explores the rapid rise of co-located battery projects, which now account for more than 30% of Germany's BESS offtake market. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti sits down with Dimitar Enchev, Executive Director at CWP Global, to discuss why Southeast Europe remains one of Europe's most compelling renewable energy markets. Drawing on CWP's extensive development pipeline across the region, the conversation explores how wind, battery storage, corporate PPAs, and evolving market integration are reshaping investment opportunities across both EU and non-EU countries. Key themes from the discussion include: Why Southeast Europe continues to offer attractive opportunities for renewable investmentHow wind and battery storage create complementary value across the region's power marketsHow CBAM could accelerate corporate demand for renewable PPAsHow growing market integration is reshaping pricing and trading opportunitiesWhy storage and portfolio optimization are becoming critical competitive advantagesWhy flexibility will play an increasingly important role as renewable markets matureIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence, highlighting the key themes from Pexapark's latest German market briefing. He examines continued pressure on solar PPA pricing, the growing role of co-located storage, the maturation of BESS financing through Flexibility Purchase Agreements (FPAs), and shifting regulatory frameworks supporting renewable development. The discussion also touches on Great Britain's corporate PPA market, where buyers are increasingly turning to operational assets as premiums for new-build projects continue to rise. The takeaway: across Europe's most active renewable markets, storage, flexibility, and evolving offtake structures are becoming central to project economics and investment decisions. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti is joined by Jordi Francesch, Managing Director and Global Head of Asset Management at Nuveen, to discuss how renewable investors are navigating a market defined by falling capture prices, rising volatility, curtailment, and growing regulatory complexity. Drawing on experience managing a portfolio of more than 5 GW of solar and storage assets across multiple markets, Jordi shares his perspective on value creation, risk management, and the evolving role of battery storage in the energy transition. Key themes from the discussion include: Why renewable investing has shifted from financial engineering back to operational excellenceHow risk management, regulation, and revenue optimization have become critical value driversWhy asset quality and location matter more as capture rates declineHow evolving revenue stacks are changing renewable and storage investment strategiesThe growing importance of BESS for both renewable portfolios and grid integrationWhy Italy, Spain, and Germany are taking different approaches to market design and flexibilityIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He reviews several major developments across renewable energy, storage, and power markets, beginning with SoftBank’s plans to invest up to €75 billion in French data center infrastructure. The discussion highlights the growing importance of large-scale power demand from digital infrastructure and the implications for future electricity consumption. The broader takeaway: new sources of demand are becoming an increasingly important consideration for renewable developers, investors, and power markets across Europe. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti sits down with Maria Paz, Director of Energy Management and Thermal Generation at Repsol, to discuss what it takes to build and manage a large-scale renewable portfolio within an integrated energy company. With more than 6 GW of renewable capacity across Spain, the US, Chile, and Italy, Repsol offers a unique perspective on combining generation, retail demand, trading, and risk management under a single commercial strategy. Key themes from the discussion include: How Repsol integrates generation, retail demand, and trading activitiesWhy PPAs remain essential for de-risking renewable investmentsHow portfolio optimization captures value across forward, spot, and ancillary service marketsThe role of hybridization and grid constraints in future project developmentWhy renewable commercialization is becoming increasingly complex as markets evolveIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence, examining Italy's rapidly evolving renewable and storage market. He highlights the upcoming MACSE storage auction, the launch of a market-based FCR mechanism, and new FERX renewable support rounds. Across all three developments, a common theme emerges: developers and lenders continue to place a high value on long-term revenue certainty, while regulators increasingly design mechanisms that support system integration and flexibility. The takeaway: Italy is reinforcing its position as one of Europe's most important renewable and storage markets through a combination of regulated support schemes and market-based incentives. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti sits down with Max von Hausen, Pexapark’s Regional Lead for PPA and BESS Transactions in the DACH region, to explore the rise of co-located renewable and battery projects – and what hybrid PPA structures actually look like in practice. Drawing from ongoing negotiations and market outreach across Europe, the conversation examines how developers, utilities, corporates, and lenders are approaching the rapidly evolving market for hybrid offtake agreements in Germany and beyond. Key themes from the discussion: What hybrid PPAs are and how co-located solar and BESS projects are structuredWhy negative prices and falling capture rates are accelerating co-locationHow pay-as-produced, pay-as-nominated, and hybrid structures differWhy developers are balancing fixed revenues with merchant exposureHow FCAs and grid constraints are shaping project economicsWhy co-location could become the standard model for future renewable projectsIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence, examining how data center demand is reshaping US power markets. In ERCOT, uncertainty around future load growth is driving a sharp shift in forward curves, while hyperscalers continue paying premium prices for renewable PPAs. In PJM, supply constraints and slow interconnection processes are keeping solar PPA prices near record highs despite new reliability initiatives. The takeaway: data center demand is accelerating structural changes across US power markets, but supply bottlenecks continue to dominate pricing dynamics. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti speaks with Steffen Schülzchen, CEO and Founder of Entrix, about the rise of battery optimization and the role of software in turning flexibility into a scalable business. Entrix is one of Europe’s leading battery optimizers in the flexibility space, helping large-scale batteries operate across power markets, ancillary services, and evolving offtake structures. Key themes from the discussion: What a battery optimizer actually does – beyond simply “trading” batteries How Entrix uses software and automation to optimize BESS across multiple revenue streams Why battery performance depends on market forecasts, asset constraints, warranties, and state of charge How optimization agreements, merchant exposure, and longer-term offtake structures are evolving Why European expansion requires local market knowledge, even with a scalable tech platform How the optimizer market may develop across Europe as flexibility becomes critical infrastructure In the second part of the episode, Luca turns to recent Pexapark market intelligence. He examines the role of demand-side flexibility in Europe’s changing power system, and why it looks compelling on paper but remains difficult to scale in practice. While industrial demand response can compete with BESS in some balancing and capacity markets, its availability depends on operational constraints and market design. The takeaway: demand-side flexibility has a role to play, but for now, BESS remains the more controllable, scalable force shaping intraday spreads in Europe. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti speaks with Philipp Man, CEO and Founder of terralayr, about his vision for building a scalable platform for battery flexibility. The conversation explores how terralayr combines a BESS IPP model with a software-driven route to market, and how asset owners can structure revenues across contracted and merchant exposure, multiple optimizers, and evolving offtake products. Key themes from the discussion: Why flexibility is emerging as the next critical layer in energy marketsHow terralayr combines asset ownership with a software-based commercialization platformWhy asset owners are moving beyond the binary of fully merchant vs fully contractedHow virtual tolls, optimizer baskets, and auction-based mechanisms expand BESS revenue strategiesWhat is driving demand, pricing, and counterparty dynamics in Germany’s BESS offtake marketWhy bankability still hinges on credible counterparties and proven tolling structuresIn the second part of the episode, Luca turns to Pexapark market intelligence, unpacking how geopolitical tensions are reshaping European power markets. He examines how the Iran war is being priced as a structural supply risk – increasing gas prices and volatility, and improving the outlook for BESS revenues – while also widening bid-ask spreads and slowing long-term contracting. The discussion then shifts to flexible connection agreements (FCAs) in Germany, highlighting how non-firm grid access introduces volume risk and increases pricing uncertainty for traditional tolling structures. The takeaway: Germany’s BESS offtake market is increasingly pointing toward more flexible, portfolio-based and financial solutions – including partial tolling, virtual tolls, and top-bottom swaps. NOTES How Flexible Connection Agreements Reshape BESS Tolls in Germany Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >

Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, Luca Pedretti is joined by Supria Ranade, Executive Director, Power Origination at J.P. Morgan, to explore the evolving landscape of the US battery offtake market. The discussion looks at how the market is moving beyond traditional tolling structures toward more sophisticated hedging solutions such as top-bottom (TB) swaps – and what this shift means for pricing, risk transfer, and market participants. Key themes from the discussion: How the US battery offtake market has evolved from traditional tolls to TB swaps and other structured hedgesThe three core battery revenue streams: energy arbitrage, ancillary services, and capacityWhy ERCOT and CAISO remain the key markets shaping battery contracting and tradingWho is buying and selling TB products – from utilities and hedge providers to corporates and data centersWhy battery offtake remains largely an OTC market, even as benchmark products gain tractionWhat TB pricing reveals about market volatility, battery duration, and the value of storage flexibilityIn the second part of the episode, Luca is joined by Pexapark colleagues Jeremy Zelinger and Tyler Anderson to discuss a major expansion of Pexapark’s US storage price intelligence. The focus is on new TB4 and TB6 benchmarks for longer-duration batteries in ERCOT and PJM, the methodology behind them, and early insights – including strong seasonality in persistent value and diminishing returns as battery duration increases. Unlock More PPA Market Insights Register for your free Pexapark account to stay updated on the latest energy transition trends. Learn more >