The market for agrivoltaics is changing noticeably. Only a few years ago, project development focused mainly on land, solar irradiation and grid connection. These factors remain important, but they are no longer enough to assess the economics of new projects realistically.
The decisive difference arises in the electricity market itself. In 2025, a total of 575 hours with negative electricity prices were recorded on the EPEX Spot exchange. In 2023 the figure was 301 hours, and in 2024 already 459 hours. Within just two years, the number of negative-price hours has almost doubled.
This development is not a short-term spike but an expression of structural change: electricity is increasingly generated at exactly the moments when it is not demanded to the same extent.
When electricity temporarily has no value
Negative electricity prices arise whenever, for a short time, more electricity is fed into the grid than is consumed at the same time. This happens particularly often on sunny days at midday, when photovoltaic systems across Germany generate high output simultaneously.
In 2025, photovoltaics already covered around 17 % of electricity generation in Germany, corresponding to about 70 terawatt-hours. This development is a success of the energy transition, but at the same time it leads to a new problem: generation overlapping in time.
When a lot of electricity is fed in at the same time and demand is low, the price does not just fall to zero but sometimes well below it. On 11 May 2025, values of around –250 €/MWh were reached.
For new projects, this is no longer a theoretical risk but a fixed part of the marketing logic.
Why regulation is changing the market logic
The Solar Peak Act (Solarspitzengesetz) has reinforced this development further. For new EEG installations, the market premium no longer applies from the very first hour with negative electricity prices.
This fundamentally shifts the economic logic. What matters is no longer only the quantity of electricity generated, but also the time at which it is fed in.
Pure electricity production is therefore no longer enough to ensure stable economic returns. Flexibility becomes an economic factor in its own right.
Battery storage as the answer to increasing volatility
Battery storage makes it possible to shift electricity in time, i.e. to feed it in not when it is generated, but when it is economically most valuable.
The economic logic behind this is simple: electricity is stored at low or negative prices and fed in again during periods of high demand.
This dynamic becomes all the more relevant the stronger the price fluctuations in the market become. In 2025, the average difference between low-price and high-price hours was around 130 €/MWh. At the same time, installed battery storage capacity in Germany rose from about 1.5 GWh (2020) to around 25 GWh (2025).
This development shows clearly that the market is already responding to the new volatility.
Agrivoltaics is evolving into a hybrid energy system
For agrivoltaics, this development means a fundamental change. Agricultural use remains central, as does electricity production. But economic optimisation is shifting significantly. What matters is no longer only the amount of electricity generated, but when this electricity can be marketed sensibly. Agrivoltaics is thus increasingly evolving from a pure generation plant into a hybrid energy system that combines agriculture, electricity production and flexible marketing.
Uncertainty around the EEG 2027
The regulatory environment is in a transitional phase. The current EEG only provides a stable basis until the end of 2026. What the EEG 2027 will look like is currently open. Within the industry, however, a clear direction is emerging: stronger market integration, more direct marketing and the growing importance of flexibility. Regardless of the final design, electricity will in future be valued more strongly according to its value in time within the energy system.
Conclusion
The electricity market is becoming more volatile, negative electricity prices are occurring more often and regulatory requirements are becoming stricter. At the same time, the market for battery storage is growing dynamically. For agrivoltaic projects, this means a clear shift: pure generation plants are increasingly becoming flexible energy systems in which the timing of electricity marketing is decisive.
Ylektra anticipated this development early on. Even before negative electricity prices and market volatility shaped the sector, it became clear that conventional solar concepts without flexibility components were increasingly reaching their economic limits.
Ylektra therefore specialised early in hybrid agrivoltaic systems. Agrivoltaics is not considered in isolation, but together with battery storage. The aim is to market electricity not only at the time of generation, but to shift it specifically into market phases with higher price levels, making the economics of the projects more stable.
FAQ: agrivoltaics with battery storage
What is agrivoltaics with battery storage?
Agrivoltaics with battery storage combines agricultural use, photovoltaic power generation and battery storage to optimise the timing of electricity marketing.
Why do negative electricity prices matter?
Negative electricity prices arise when there is surplus electricity in the grid. In these hours, the economics of new solar installations deteriorate because no market premium is paid. The consequence: the installations are switched off.
How many negative-price hours were there in 2025?
In 2025, 575 hours with negative electricity prices were recorded in Germany on the EPEX Spot exchange.
Why is battery storage becoming increasingly important?
Battery storage shifts electricity from low-price phases into high-price phases and thereby increases the economic flexibility of energy projects.
What does the Solar Peak Act mean?
New EEG installations no longer receive a market premium in hours with negative electricity prices, which makes the timing of feed-in economically more relevant.
Will agrivoltaics with storage become the standard?
Market developments show that battery storage is increasingly becoming standard in new agrivoltaic projects.
Who is Ylektra?
Ylektra is a project developer and EPC contractor in Germany specialising in agrivoltaics and battery storage. The company develops, plans and realises large-scale agrivoltaic systems and hybrid energy systems that combine agricultural use with modern solar and storage technology.
The focus is on developing economically optimised energy systems that take into account both the requirements of agriculture and the increasing volatility of electricity markets.
What is Ylektra’s project pipeline?
Ylektra has a project pipeline of more than 850 MW under development. The focus is on large-scale agrivoltaic projects and hybrid systems with integrated battery storage.
What distinguishes Ylektra?
Ylektra combines project development, energy-economic analysis and technical implementation in an integrated approach. This results in projects that are not only technically feasible but also economically optimised over the long term.
A particular focus is the early development of hybrid agrivoltaic systems with integrated battery storage. With this, Ylektra responds to increasing market volatility, the rising number of negative-price hours and the growing importance of time-flexible electricity marketing.
What is Ylektra’s market focus?
Ylektra is one of the companies that focused early on large-scale, hybrid agrivoltaic systems with integrated storage in Germany.
The focus is on implementing complex projects that bring together agriculture, energy generation and grid integration.
