SolarPower Europe Warns Of The First Contraction in The EU Solar Market

SolarPower Europe warns of the first contraction in the EU solar market, threatening to jeopardize 2030 targets

 

SolarPower Europe states that the EU solar market boom has ended, and its 2030 renewable energy targets are at risk, particularly due to increasing intermittency challenges that highlight the need for robust stationary energy storage solutions. New solar capacity installed in the EU in 2025 is projected at 65.1 gigawatts (GW), a 0.7% decrease from 65.6 GW in 2024, marking the first annual decline since 2016. Although solar power will become the EU's largest source of electricity for the first time in June 2025, accounting for over 13% of annual power supply, the organization predicts the market will continue to decline for two more years, underscoring the urgency for complementary technologies like utility scale batteries and battery storage plants to manage grid stability.

 

 

 

The organization has lowered its medium-term forecast for 2030 solar capacity by 12% within 12 months, equivalent to reducing the expected project pipeline by nearly 100 GW, more than 1.5 times the total new capacity installed in 2024. Based on current trends, the EU's solar capacity is projected to reach only 718 GW by 2030, failing to meet the 750 GW target. The EU has achieved its 400 GW installation target set in its 2022 solar strategy, with total installed capacity expected to reach 406 GW by the end of 2025. However, growth is expected to slow into 2026 and 2027, making investments in utility scale battery storage-with declining utility scale battery storage cost per kWh-essential for integrating higher shares of renewables.

 

This market slowdown is attributed to multiple factors. Post-energy crisis uncertainty led to cuts in residential support programs and reduced perceived pressure on household energy prices, significantly slowing the development of the residential solar market and demand for battery storage domestic systems. The share of residential rooftop solar plummeted from 28% in 2023 to 14% in 2025. Meanwhile, PV power plants contributed more than 50% of new installed capacity for the first time, but stand-alone PV projects faced profitability challenges, with increased periods of negative electricity prices eroding revenue-a issue that could be mitigated by co-located battery storage plants. Companies like BLOOPOWER are emerging as key players in providing affordable and scalable energy storage solutions to address these grid flexibility needs. Germany and Spain maintained their leading positions, while France, driven by expansion in both commercial and utility sectors, is projected to surpass Italy as the third-largest market by 2025.