The average price of solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) in North America rose 4.9% in the third quarter of 2026 to $64.23 per megawatt-hour, according to LevelTen Energy's latest quarterly price data, reported by Utility Dive on 21 October. Solar PPA prices are now 6% higher than a year ago and 12.7% higher than in the third quarter of 2024.
Tariffs drive the increase
LevelTen attributes most of the recent rise to trade tariffs. Section 232 tariffs, announced in early August, could add $3 to $7 per MWh by the time they take effect later this year. Much of the third-quarter increase is anticipatory, as buyers try to sign contracts before the tariffs bite. Because current rules prevent developers from stockpiling modules, equipment prices are already moving: Sarah Wolf, LevelTen's director of North America transactions, said "more than half of solar modules" have been repriced, with the cost passed on to project sellers and ultimately to buyers.
Wind flat, but up over the year
Wind PPA prices were relatively flat in the quarter, partly because modest declines in ERCOT, the Texas grid, pulled the North American average down. Over the year, however, wind prices rose 13.8%, and they are 27.5% higher than in 2024. Federal permitting challenges are constraining wind, and buyers see solar as the safer bet in the current political climate.
A market led by hyperscalers
The buyer base is narrowing. Wolf said 99% of new-build PPAs signed in the first quarter of 2026 went to hyperscalers, the large cloud and data-centre operators. Citing the Clean Energy Buyers Association, Utility Dive reports that the number of first-time PPA buyers has fallen to its lowest level since 2016. That leaves smaller corporate buyers competing with data-centre giants for a limited pool of new projects.
At the same time, ageing wind and solar fleets are coming off older contracts, opening opportunities for new bidders, and some developers are repowering or expanding existing sites. Wolf said prices for new-build PPAs and for contracts tied to existing projects are now comparable.
More increases ahead
Wolf expects prices to keep rising, citing the geopolitical climate and the approaching expiry of renewable energy tax credits. Developers, she said, are "racing against the clock to lock in projects" that still qualify for those credits.
What it means
For corporate buyers, the window for lower-cost solar contracts in the US is closing, and waiting is likely to cost more. For developers and EPCs, tariff-driven equipment costs and tax-credit deadlines make procurement timing and contract structure central to project economics. For markets outside the US, the data are a reminder of how quickly trade policy feeds into power prices: a few dollars per MWh of tariff cost can decide whether a project gets built.
Sources: Utility Dive, LevelTen Energy.
