Spain's Hybrid Solar-Wind Farms Solve Power Pricing Crisis

Spain just cracked the code on making solar power profitable again, and the solution was hiding in plain sight.

Independent power producer Nadara recently added 241 megawatts of solar panels to five existing wind farms across Spain. The move might seem puzzling since Spain already has so much solar power that prices sometimes drop to zero during sunny midday hours.

But there's genius in this approach. By combining solar and wind at the same location, Nadara created a power profile that works all day and night, making the electricity far more valuable to buyers.

Maria Mura, Nadara's head of origination, explains the challenge facing standalone solar projects. "Most of those solar megawatt hours produced in the central hours of the day have no value, so they're traded at zero or negative prices," she told industry publication Recharge.

The hybrid approach solves two problems at once. First, it maximizes the benefit of existing grid connections already built for the wind turbines. Second, it packages unreliable solar energy into something buyers actually want: stable, round-the-clock power.

This strategy just enabled Nadara to sign its largest power purchase agreement ever, a 10-year deal with commodities giant Trafigura in 2026. Wind generates electricity when solar can't, especially during evenings and cloudy days, creating the steady supply that businesses need.

The Ripple Effect

This hybrid trend is sweeping across Europe. Nearly one third of all European power purchase agreements in the second quarter featured hybrid projects, according to LevelTen Energy's latest data.

Spain and Germany now lead this hybrid revolution. The model has also taken hold in Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Greece, Lithuania and Portugal, where hybrid deals outnumber traditional single-source renewable contracts.

Plácido Ostos, director of European analytics at LevelTen Energy, confirms that wind has become a premium technology. Research shows wind power agreements in Europe deliver about 20 euros per megawatt hour more value than standalone solar over 15 years.

The shift reflects how power buyers have matured. They're no longer just checking sustainability boxes. Today's buyers want renewable energy that maintains its economic value over time, leading them to favor these complementary combinations.

Retrofitting solar onto existing wind sites proves relatively easy for developers and unlocks valuable infrastructure synergies. Some projects are even adding battery storage to the mix, creating three-way hybrids that can store excess solar power for use during peak evening hours.

This Spanish success story offers a blueprint for other solar-saturated markets struggling with price cannibalisation, turning a renewable energy challenge into an elegant solution that benefits everyone from producers to planet.