Solar power purchase agreement prices climbed nearly 5% in the third quarter, with most of the increase tied to new trade tariffs. LevelTen Energy reports the average solar PPA reached $64.23/MWh, up 4.9% from the prior quarter and 6% year-over-year. Much of the jump is anticipatory, as buyers try to lock in contracts before the latest Section 232 tariffs take effect later this year.
Wind PPAs, by contrast, stayed relatively flat in the quarter, though they are up 13.8% year-over-year. LevelTen says a modest price decline in the ERCOT region pulled the North American average down, as more wind projects came online there and buyers increasingly view solar as a safer bet. New-build wind projects remain scarce because of federal permitting challenges, and wind prices could begin rising again once the new tariffs take hold.
LevelTen's Sarah Wolf said the tariffs could add $3 to $7 per MWh, with more than half of solar modules already repriced and those costs passing down to buyers. Hyperscalers dominate new-build PPAs—99% of those signed in the first quarter went to hyperscalers—while other buyers are turning to contracts tied to existing renewable projects whose original agreements have expired. With renewable energy tax credits phasing out, Wolf expects prices to keep rising for the foreseeable future.