The Pexapark Podcast Ahead of RE-Source: SolarPower Europe’s Walburga Hemetsberger on Solar, Storage, and Europe’s Next Energy Chapter
Welcome back to The Pexapark Podcast! In the first part of the episode, we cover big shifts in renewables: France unveiled a revamped capacity market (centralized RTE-run auctions from November 2026) and a new injection tariff guiding storage behavior to ease grid congestion. Italy’s FER-X solar and wind auctions landed right in line with Pexapark’s fair-value benchmarks, while Germany’s Innovation auction showed sharper competition and only a small premium for solar-plus-storage projects. Meanwhile, data centers continue to dominate corporate PPA demand – around 30% of the total – with Northern Europe emerging as a key growth region. Across the Atlantic, PJM and Texas face accelerating load growth and a wave of battery deployments, confirming that storage now sits at the heart of the energy transition.
In the second half, Luca Pedretti speaks with Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, about how solar is evolving from pure generation to a cornerstone of flexibility. Topics include:
- The growth of RE-Source into Europe’s flagship corporate PPA forum and this year’s themes – negative-price risk, hybrid PPAs, and access for smaller buyers
- How SolarPower Europe drives policy in Brussels, from high-level advocacy to detailed input on network codes and market design
- The rise of Solar 2.0: combining solar with storage to deliver near-continuous clean power and stronger business cases
- Managing new challenges – countering misinformation, adapting to shifting policy priorities, and keeping electrification momentum
- Upcoming milestones: the EU Grids Package and Electrification Action Plan, both expected to advance flexibility and storage adoption
Analysis notes:
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