Enerparc's Chief Operating Officer, Stefan M ü ller, recently stated that photovoltaic developers are increasingly interested in using European made photovoltaic modules, reflecting their willingness to increase investment. In a recent interview with industry media, she analyzed and explored the feasibility of the company's electricity purchase agreement (PPA) market and its presence in the German photovoltaic bidding market. Enerparc is an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, as well as an independent power producer.
Politicians and manufacturers are currently promoting the resumption of photovoltaic module production in Europe, including the entire manufacturing process from polycrystalline silicon to silicon wafers, silicon rods, photovoltaic cells, and photovoltaic modules. Will this interest potential buyers?
M ü ller: Of course, it can arouse the interest of potential buyers, and we are also discussing this topic. This is also true in the residential photovoltaic field. There are many controversies and marketing activities related to purchasing locally manufactured photovoltaic products, but they are very effective because such purchasing behavior is also an emotional decision. We are now seeing more and more companies signing electricity purchase agreements, and energy is only a part of them. For them, having a good story is more important. This means that they not only reduced their carbon dioxide footprint, but also adopted domestically produced products.
Have there been any changes in the photovoltaic market in Europe in recent years?
M ü ller: There have been some changes, but for energy suppliers, the situation is a bit different. If they pay an extra penny for photovoltaic modules, it will ultimately increase the electricity bill by 0.3 cents per kilowatt hour. But this is not the only benchmark. I think many people are willing to pay higher prices. Especially for companies with strong brands, only some of their products are related to energy.
First, take a look at the market. On the one hand, it is the electricity purchase agreement, and on the other hand, it is the bidding. Bidding is clearly possible to obtain the cheapest price. Is bidding still important for photovoltaic developers?
M ü ller: Of course, we are still doing this now. This has laid a solid foundation for obtaining good financing for photovoltaic projects. We continue to be active in the market where electricity is sold directly on stock exchanges. But we are now as strong as real corporate participants who not only want to sign power procurement agreements, but also want to develop photovoltaic projects with us. Our cooperation with IKEA in Australia is a good example. Many users hope to receive one-stop services, support during development and construction, product selection, and quality assurance, and then hand over photovoltaic projects to us for operation.
Will these companies own these photovoltaic power generation facilities?
M ü ller: This is different. For example, IKEA owns these photovoltaic facilities, but we will operate and maintain these photovoltaic systems. On the other hand, our clients also have typical energy consumers or listed companies. It can be said that these companies are trapped in their own bidding models. For example, if a large automotive group wants to own photovoltaic projects, they must engage in traditional bidding. In this vibrant renewable energy industry, this is difficult to achieve. If we develop photovoltaic projects together, large automotive groups will have this system