2/16/2024 0 Comments Instal Doomed LandsUtility solar plants risk having a similarly destructive impact on the profitability of rooftop solar plants, once they become the driving influence on wholesale electricity prices. Some electricity markets are already experiencing price cannibalisation, where weather-dependent renewables depress wholesale prices at times of high output. “The more solar you have in a certain country or region, the lower the value of the solar electricity generated, because there will be an abundance of electricity whenever the sun is shining brightly, and the value of that electricity will accordingly be low or near zero,” says Tim Schittekatte, research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative. While rooftop solar remains dominant in many EU markets, the utility-scale market is ultimately expected to dominate generation: SolarPower Europe anticipates that utility market growth will overtake the rooftop market by 2026.Įventually, when grids are 100% low carbon and majority-powered by cheap solar and wind – which the EU is aiming for by the mid-2030s – there is a chance that the price difference between rooftop solar and utility solar will be so marginal that installing rooftop solar will no longer make economic sense for households. The years that follow will see variable renewables penetrate ever further into the European electricity mix: already, wind and solar overtook gas to become the largest source of EU electricity in 2022.
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