Zosia Riesner discusses Lightsource bp’s partnerships and shares power market insights on NPM Europe’s podcast

Zosia Riesner, Lightsource bp Director of Power Markets for Europe, appeared on the Interconnections podcast with renewable energy project data and intelligence service NPM Europe to share insights on the continent’s power market.

Zosia discussed the ongoing demand for power purchase agreements (PPAs), including from the tech sector.

“2023 was a record year for corporate PPAs, and it looks like 2024 might be another record year,” she explains.

“The top buyers are often in technology and heavy industry, but we’re seeing more interest from less recognisable organisations. These might not be very large global businesses or consumer brands but smaller organisations, universities, the public sector and transportation. There’s a huge range of different types of buyers.”

Renewable energy buyers raise their standards

When asked how developers and buyers have coped with recent market challenges in Europe, Zosia explained how the depth of the partnerships Lightsource bp has fostered have played a key role.

“Our corporate customers have recognised the challenging environment that developers in Europe have been operating in over the last few years. I’m talking not only about price but also about administrative delays, permitting delays and grid delays,” Zosia explains, with some power buyers showing the flexibility to share the risk of those delays with their partners.

“There has been recognition of the extraordinary impacts on the marketplace with supply chain challenges and changing laws. There’s been a willingness to work through those short-term challenges,” she adds.

Zosia highlighted that one area where buyers are not willing to compromise is on the quality of the projects they choose to work with.

“We’re seeing more due diligence on projects, more interest in supply chain traceability, and a stronger focus on sustainability, biodiversity and community engagement associated with the project. This focus on contracting with good projects is great to see.”

You can listen to the full NPM Europe podcast here.

Learn more about buying power from Lightsource bp.