The European solar market is developing dynamically. For the third year in a row, the market grew by 40% or more, to around 56 gigawatts (GW) in 2023. According to a market survey by the European solar association SolarPower Europe, 2023 was the best year for solar power in 20 of the 27 EU member states, with 14 countries installing 1 or more gigawatts. The combined installed capacity in the EU now amounts to 263 GW. With the tremendous growth, there has been a flurry of innovations in the marketplace. New solar cell designs are on the rise. Inverters are taking over new functions. Dual land use is gaining popularity. And new business models allow PV deployment to flourish. These trends are detailed below, and you can experience them first- hand at Intersolar Europe 2024.
Last year, more than one gigawatt of photovoltaic (PV) capacity was installed per day worldwide, equivalent to the output of a large coal or nuclear power plant. Twenty years ago, it took a whole year to reach this amount; in 2010 it took one month.
And there’s no end in sight to Europe’s solar boom: SolarPower Europe predicts that growth rates will slow in the coming years, but remain in the double digits. For some time, solar energy has been a cost-effective source of electricity. In March 2024, its market value fell below 5 euro per kilowatt hour for the first time since June 2021.
