The challenge: Energy systems are in the process of transformation throughout Europe. The number of decentralised elements is increasing, the passive consumer is transforming into a discerning customer and “prosumer” and, due to changing customer needs and ever-sinking costs, renewable energy is booming. At the same time, state subsidies for renewable energy with fixed feed-in tariffs are being replaced with market-driven funding, or even abolished outright in many European countries. The upshot of these regulatory changes is that investors in new plants are increasingly exposed to the risk of changing wholesale prices. As renewable energy volumes are increased, the volatile electricity production associated with them must also be adaptable in line with demand. This is making electricity storage technologies ever more important.
Axpo’s approach: Axpo is helping through various business activities to reshape the energy system. In Switzerland, Axpo is the leading producer of renewable energy. Furthermore, its flexible hydro power plants create the capacity needed to balance out volatile electricity production. When it acquired the wind farm developer Volkswind in 2015 and photovoltaic developer Urbasolar in 2019, Axpo strengthened its activities in the development of renewable energy generation, such as onshore wind farms in Germany and France and large-scale solar facilities, primarily in France. These acquisitions also enlarged Axpo’s own renewable energy portfolio in Europe outside Switzerland.
As well as building and operating its own plants, Axpo is positioning itself as one of the Europe’s leading marketers of electricity from renewable energy sources. The customer portfolios it manages chiefly comprise wind and photovoltaic energy and are spread right across Europe. Axpo offers investors in renewable energy individual and long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), thereby enabling the construction of new plants which are not subsidised by a fixed feed-in remuneration. These PPAs give investors planning certainty, particularly if they lack expertise in marketing electricity. Institutional investors such as pension funds and other investment funds are increasingly being joined by large corporations which, under various initiatives, are committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity supply (one example being the RE-100 Initiative).
Axpo is responding to the trend towards increasingly decentralised and intelligent elements in the energy system through its subsidiary CKW and its sites in Italy and Spain, by developing and selling smart energy products. Products and services focusing on decentralised production and optimised consumption (photovoltaics, batteries, e-mobility), heat solutions and intelligent control are offered to private and commercial customers. Solutions to increase energy efficiency, for flexibility management and in the area of building technology are offered to business customers.