Transmission How Solar Turned the Price Curve Upside Down - AES Clean Energy
16 snips
Feb 17, 2026 Terry Embury, VP and Head of Trading and Market Operations at AES Clean Energy, runs trading and operations for large-scale renewables and storage serving hyperscalers. He discusses how rapid solar growth flipped market dynamics, the rise of solar-specific trading blocks, why batteries are crucial for 24/7 clean power, and how data center demand is reshaping project siting and value.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Solar Creates A Timing Problem
- Solar creates a timing problem: cheap midday energy but high evening peaks that shift value across hours.
- Predictable, bankable revenue (PPAs) matters more for financing than lowest price alone.
Battery Revenue Is Threefold And Erodes With Scale
- Battery value splits into capacity, energy arbitrage (top vs bottom hours), and ancillary services.
- Increasing battery penetration compresses those revenue streams, flattening price spreads and ancillaries.
Lock Revenues With Offtake Agreements
- Use strong offtake agreements (PPAs) to lock value and make projects bankable despite market compression.
- Structure deals to capture predictable revenues rather than rely solely on volatile merchant spreads.