Solar's meteoric growth continues

In 2024, the EU experienced record growth in solar generation and capacity, with all member states seeing increases. However, the rapid expansion has led to more frequent zero or negative power prices and wider intraday price spreads. To manage this and maintain the trajectory toward 2030 targets, the report advocates for the accelerated rollout of clean flexibility tools, specifically battery storage, smart electrification, and grid modernization.

• The EU saw record annual increases in both solar generation and capacity in 2024. Generation increased by 54 TWh (+22%) compared to 2023, while the solar fleet grew by 66 GW, which is 4% more than the 63 GW added in 2023. Total installed capacity reached 338 GW in 2024.
• Solar growth occurred in every EU country in 2024. Sixteen EU countries generated more than 10% of their electricity from solar, an increase of three countries over 2023. In 12 EU countries, solar generation met 80% or more of power demand during at least one hour in 2024.
• The abundance of solar power has increased the frequency of zero or negative hourly power prices across the EU, rising from 2% of hours in 2023 to 4% in 2024. Intraday price spreads also widened; in Q3 2024, 18 EU countries saw average spreads increase by at least 10% compared to Q3 2023, with spreads doubling to over €200/MWh in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
• Battery storage is a critical flexibility tool, with EU installed capacity doubling to 16 GW in 2023, though 70% of these batteries were concentrated in Germany and Italy. The report notes that combining grid-scale batteries with utility solar can be cheaper than existing coal or gas plants in Germany.
• Barriers to smart electrification and demand flexibility persist in the EU. In ten EU countries, fewer than 30% of households have access to smart meters, and six countries have a rollout rate below 10%. Additionally, most EU power consumers use fixed-price contracts, which limits their ability to access cheaper electricity during peak solar hours.

APA

Ember (2025). Solar's meteoric growth continues. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/solars-meteoric-growth-continues/

Chicago

Ember. Solar's meteoric growth continues. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/solars-meteoric-growth-continues/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Solar's meteoric growth continues |date=23 January 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/solars-meteoric-growth-continues/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025solars, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Solar's meteoric growth continues}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/solars-meteoric-growth-continues/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }