daily · Electrification

LevelTen: North American solar PPA prices jumped 4.9% in Q3 as new tariffs bite

LevelTen Energy's Q3 2026 North American PPA Price Index shows P25 solar offer prices up 4.9% on the quarter, with the new Core-Markets P25 Solar Price at $64.23/MWh, as developers begin pricing in Section 232 tariffs announced in August. Wind prices were essentially flat at $68.27/MWh.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 23, 2026 · Updated 10/23/2026

Solar power purchase agreement offer prices in North America rose 4.9% in the third quarter of 2026, according to LevelTen Energy's quarterly PPA Price Index, which tracks prices developers offer on its marketplace. LevelTen's new Core-Markets P25 Solar Price, a metric introduced this quarter, came in at $64.23 per megawatt-hour.

LevelTen attributes the quarter's pricing move primarily to the Section 232 tariffs announced in early August. The measures apply across the solar supply chain - polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells and modules - combining a 15% blanket tariff with a Minimum Import Price that lifts imported components toward domestic price levels. LevelTen's analysis shows the levies pushing imported module prices up by more than 40%. The tariffs do not take effect until December, but the Commerce Department has already moved against what it describes as stockpiling, and developers are beginning to fold the expected impact into PPA offers.

Wind told a flatter story: P25 wind prices on LevelTen's Continental Index slipped 0.1% quarter over quarter, with the Core-Markets P25 Wind Price at $68.27 per megawatt-hour. Prices rose in most markets, but a modest decline in ERCOT - which carries an outsized share of the offer pool - offset the increases. Beyond the same tariffs on steel, aluminum and some copper products, LevelTen points to a deeper constraint: many U.S. wind projects remain stalled awaiting Determination of No Hazard permits and mitigation agreements from the FAA and Department of Defense, leaving the development pipeline unable to replenish and pushing some buyers toward operational projects.

For corporate buyers, LevelTen notes a timing wrinkle in sustainability accounting: SBTi's V2.0 guidance, finalized in June, pushes buyers to procure renewable energy certificates from within their deliverability regions, but contracts signed before February 1, 2027 can forego that requirement - a window LevelTen describes as brief but valuable.

Official source: leveltenenergy.com ↗