Possible 10 to 20 percent markup for European photovoltaic modules
Are you sure you are not wasting €100 000 per year on your energy budget?
For companies with an annual energy spend of around €2 million, commodity and non-commodity combined, savings are often hiding in plain sight.
In practice, organisations achieve an average saving of 8% on the commodity part of their energy budget. Not through luck or market timing, but through structure.
Those savings typically come from three levers:
- Contract tendering
- Click strategy
- Invoice control
Yet one lever is underestimated.
Clicks without a strategy feel active, but reduce control.
Most click decisions happen reactively.
Prices rise. Budgets come under pressure. A click is made.
It feels like active management.
In reality, there is no predefined decision framework.
Each click becomes a one-off decision.
Uncertainty increases. Budget control decreases.
Depending on market conditions and risk profile, power and gas click moments makes up to a 20% difference in the commodity price.
“The misunderstanding about click strategy is that it’s a choice between fully fixed or fully floating. The real value lies in between. By aligning click moments with budget targets and risk appetite, you build a unit price that leaves room to benefit from market evolutions.”
Volatility is not the enemy. Disorganization is.
Looking at historical forward prices, the same pattern repeats itself every year.
Within a single delivery year, electricity and gas prices often fluctuate by tens of percent.
This means the exact same volume can be fixed at very different prices within the same year.
- Companies that fix everything at once depend entirely on timing.
- Companies that spread decisions build their price step by step and end up closer to the market average.
- Organisations that take those decisions within a predefined framework consistently perform better than the average.
Not by predicting the market.
But by organising decisions.
A click strategy starts from your organisation.
A well-designed click strategy answers critical questions:
- How sensitive is your budget to price fluctuations?
- What level of risk is acceptable?
- Which volumes must be secured, and which can fluctuate?
- Over what time horizon are decisions spread?
These answers translate into a clear framework with predefined click moments, bandwidths and rules.
Without structure, volatility controls you.
With structure, volatility becomes a tool.
The willingness of companies to pay more for European-produced solar modules is increasing, with a premium of 10 to 20 percent being considered acceptable, according to Stefan Müller, COO of Enerparc. In an interview with PV magazine, Müller explained that there is a growing interest in European-made solar modules, not just for rooftop installations but also for solar power plants. In particular, large corporations are willing to pay more for modules that are made in Europe, as this forms part of their sustainable and environmental story. This is particularly important for companies where energy is only a part of their overall brand. Meanwhile, the high interest rates are currently having a significant impact on the capital costs of building solar power plants, but there is still a willingness to pay more for European-made modules.
Enerparc, which develops, builds, operates and sells electricity from solar plants, is also still involved in EEG tenders. Müller explained that tenders are a good way to get a solid financial basis for medium-sized installations, but he is now equally involved with true corporate players who want to partner with Enerparc to develop and operate their own solar power plants. The company is now working closely with such players to provide a one-stop-shop that includes development, product selection, quality assurance and operation.
