Demand for green electricity through Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) has been growing for years. Large energy users are looking for long-term protection against volatile energy prices and want to demonstrably decarbonise their electricity consumption. Producers, in turn, need that same long-term certainty to secure financing for new projects. In theory, this is a perfect match. In practice, however, it is not always clear to buyers which projects are actually available.
“The need for PPAs has been there for a long time,” says Mike Dusseldorp, Head of PPA & Energy Markets at Ecorus. “But the importance attached to concluding a PPA has changed significantly over the past two to three years. For both project developers and corporate offtakers, signing a PPA has moved much higher up the agenda. For corporates, a PPA has become a structural part of their growth strategy. For developers, it used to be just one of many boxes to tick in a spreadsheet. Today, alongside grid congestion issues, it has become one of the main showstoppers for getting new projects realised. That is precisely why we felt it was time to give all our PPA-related activities a more central place on our website.”
Over the past few years, the PPA market has developed rapidly. Standards have emerged, significantly reducing complexity. As a result, PPAs have also become accessible to smaller offtakers. What is often still lacking, however, is a clear overview of which projects are available for contracting. At Ecorus, we aim to provide that transparency by showing which projects are currently on the market for a CPPA.
“Every CPPA project starts with a PPA search on the offtaker’s side, where clarity on availability, location and scale is crucial,” says Chanan Schouten, PPA Manager at Ecorus. “By providing transparency, we believe we can help accelerate that process.”
Where PPAs were once mainly the domain of a small group of frontrunners, they are now becoming a tool for a much broader range of offtakers. This scaling up requires further professionalisation, particularly in the early orientation phase. Not because the deal itself becomes simpler, but to reach the point where the right questions can be asked more quickly.
Based on this practical experience, Ecorus developed the PPA Marketplace. It is an online environment where solar projects that are still open for contracting are presented in a clear and structured way, aimed at offtakers exploring their options. In addition, it brings together relevant supporting information on PPAs in one central place, including previously shared white papers, webinars, and press releases on successfully concluded CPPAs.
“We kept getting the same question,” says Schouten. “Which projects are still looking for an offtaker? To facilitate the market as efficiently as possible in answering that question, we believe a central online environment can help offtakers orient themselves more quickly and more effectively.”
It is important to note that the platform does not aim to take over the entire process. The focus is deliberately on visibility, both of newly available projects and of relevant general information about entering into a CPPA. According to Schouten and Dusseldorp, a CPPA process remains highly tailored and cannot be standardised through a platform.
For several years now, Schouten and Dusseldorp have observed growing interest in CPPAs from both developers and offtakers as a means to achieve their objectives. For developers, this means enabling new renewable projects. For offtakers, it supports achieving Scope 2 emission targets and developing a procurement strategy with greater long-term price certainty.
To better support both groups, Ecorus has chosen to make all relevant information about current CPPA opportunities transparently accessible through the newly launched PPA Marketplace. Initial responses from the market have been positive, and in the coming months Ecorus will continue to refine the platform to provide interested offtakers with clearer and more accessible insights into current PPA opportunities.
According to Schouten and Dusseldorp, an important first step has now been taken, and they are confident this will enable more efficient collaboration between supply and demand.
Schouten concludes: “From experience, I know that feedback from end users is incredibly valuable for what comes next.” He therefore invites users to share suggestions for improvements after visiting the PPA Marketplace.
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