Enerdatics tracks $64B in H1 renewables M&A

Enerdatics says global renewables deal value hit $64 billion in the first half of 2026, up 20% from a year earlier, with North America driving most of the activity. The new outlook flags private equity take-privates, battery storage and advanced-stage assets as the main forces shaping H2.

Why it matters: - Enerdatics' H1 2026 outlook shows renewables M&A is still concentrated in assets with clearer execution and revenue visibility, not just development pipelines. - The report points to shifting buyer priorities in North America, Europe and APAC as tax-credit changes, grid constraints and contract quality reshape deal appetite. - Per-MW valuation benchmarks and market-specific H2 guidance give investors, developers and lenders a read on pricing and risk across four regions.

What happened: - Enerdatics released Renewables M&A Outlook & Analysis H1 2026, a review of renewable energy transactions in the first half of 2026 and an outlook for the second half. - Disclosed global deal value reached $64 billion in H1 2026, up 20% from $53 billion in H1 2025. - North America accounted for roughly 85% of tracked value. - About 80% of deal volume targeted advanced-stage, near-COD and operating assets. - The report is available at no cost on request by contacting Ryan Nickerson at ryan@enerdatics.com. - The dataset is also available in Enerdatics Leap, the company's AI-native deal intelligence platform.

The details: - North American deal volume rose about 30% year on year. - BESS M&A in North America increased 70% year on year. - Solar activity in North America held steady at 20 GW transacted across 60 deals. - Private equity accounted for 65% of acquisitions in the region. - Three corporate transactions drove more than 75% of tracked North American deal value: GIP and EQT's $33.4 billion take-private of AES, Brookfield and La Caisse's $6.7 billion acquisition of Boralex, and KKR's $5.5 billion purchase of EDF's North American renewables business. - NextEra's proposed merger with Dominion could extend that pattern. - PJM became the most active US solar M&A market, with deal count rising fourfold year on year to 16 and 2.6 GW transacted. - PJM solar activity clustered around Central Ohio, Dayton, Northern Illinois and Pennsylvania, where data-center load growth is creating demand. - ERCOT remained the leading US BESS market with about 1 GW across eight deals. - Seven early-stage utility-scale solar acquisitions totaling 2.4 GW were announced in H1 2026, up from two in H1 2025. - Shell, AEP and EGH were among the buyers, and the target CODs run from 2028 to 2030. - European BESS deal activity doubled year on year to a record 69 deals and 18 GW of transacted capacity. - Finland, Germany and the UK led European storage activity. - European wind held steady at about 25 GW transacted. - European solar fell about 15%, with advanced-stage deals down 30% as grid congestion slowed project readiness. - Private equity led roughly half of European acquisitions. - CIP's $1.7 billion takeover of Ørsted's European onshore platform and Equitix's $503 million entry into the Beatrice offshore wind farm were among the headline deals. - Listed renewable funds are becoming a major sell-side channel as NAV discounts of 25% to 40% pressure boards toward take-privates, asset sales and wind-downs. - NextEnergy Solar's sale process, Gore Street's September AGM and TRIG's planned £300 million of disposals are identified as H2 catalysts. - APAC solar M&A rose about 70% year on year, wind 80% and BESS 30%, led by India and Australia. - India recorded 21 solar deals and 3.5 GW transacted. - Seven of Australia's eight solar transactions involved co-located storage. - LatAm deal flow fell roughly 70% year on year. - CPP's $1.7 billion investment in Peru-based Inkia anchored regional value. - Early BESS activity in Puerto Rico points to emerging storage demand. - The report includes per-MW benchmarks based on closed transactions and primary research for development-stage and operating or in-construction assets. - In the US, NYISO solar reached about $200,000/MW at ready-to-build, supported by NYSERDA Tier 1 REC agreements. - ERCOT solar and BESS traded in the $30,000 to $75,000/MW range. - In Europe, ready-to-build BESS premiums reached €145,000/MW in Germany. - CfD-backed solar in Portugal reached €210,000/MW.

Between the lines: - The report suggests buyers are paying for de-risked assets and near-term cash flows rather than long-dated optionality. - In North America, weaker tax-credit economics are not eliminating demand, but they are shifting attention toward projects with strong interconnection, offtake certainty and supply-chain compliance. - ERCOT storage looks more exposed than some other markets because ERCOT BESS revenues fell 37% in 2025 as scarcity eased and new capacity compressed margins. - In Europe, policy changes in Germany and the UK appear set to favor projects that are already de-risked. - In APAC, India's 42 GW of awarded capacity without signed offtake suggests a large pipeline may need to be reset or repriced. - Australia's final Capacity Investment Scheme rounds should keep supporting contracted storage. - The report also includes commentary from executives at Camelot Energy Group, reconcept Canada and nTeaser on changing underwriting standards.

What's next: - Enerdatics expects H2 buyers in North America to prioritize FEOC compliance, supply-chain traceability, secured interconnection and offtake certainty. - The report says later-dated projects can still attract capital because data-center and industrial load growth is making access to power more valuable. - In Europe, Germany's EEG 2027 changes and the UK's AR8 and Gate 2 requirements are expected to increase the value of de-risked assets. - Italy, Poland and Finland are expected to form a second tier for European BESS. - In APAC, pipeline rationalisation in India and contracted storage in Australia are likely to shape deal flow.

The bottom line: - Global renewables M&A remains strong, but the market is rewarding certainty, contracted revenue and near-term execution more than pure pipeline size.