A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June

In June 2026, solar power provided 25% of the EU's electricity, generating a record 52 TWh and becoming the bloc's largest single power source for the third time ever. This follows a period of rapid growth where solar capacity increased by more than a fifth annually between 2021 and 2025, with 65.1 GW installed in 2025 alone. Individual member states also hit records, with Germany reaching a 36% solar share in June and Spain exceeding a third of its power from solar for the first time.

• Solar power reached a record share of 25% of EU electricity generation in June 2026, producing 52 TWh. This surpassed the previous monthly record of 47 TWh (23%) set in May 2026.
• For June 2026, solar was the EU's primary power source, outperforming nuclear (21%), gas (15%), wind (14%), hydro (12%), and coal (8%). This marks only the third month solar has been the largest source, following June 2025 and May 2026.
• The EU experienced rapid solar growth between 2021 and 2025, with generation increasing by more than 20% annually. In 2025, 65.1 GW of new capacity was installed.
• Eighteen EU countries set new monthly records for solar power percentage in 2026. Specifically, Germany reached a 36% share in June, Spain generated 34% of its power from solar in June, and Poland generated 24% in June.

APA

Rosslowe, C., Fulghum, N., & Candlin, A. (2026). A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/07/A-quarter-of-EU-power-came-from-solar-for-the-first-time-in-June.pdf

Chicago

Rosslowe, Chris, Nicolas Fulghum, and Alison Candlin. A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June. Ember, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/07/A-quarter-of-EU-power-came-from-solar-for-the-first-time-in-June.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rosslowe |first1=Chris |last2=Fulghum |first2=Nicolas |last3=Candlin |first3=Alison |title=A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June |publisher=Ember |date=14 July 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/07/A-quarter-of-EU-power-came-from-solar-for-the-first-time-in-June.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rosslowe2026quarter, author = {Rosslowe, Chris and Fulghum, Nicolas and Candlin, Alison}, title = {{A quarter of EU power came from solar for the first time in June}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/07/A-quarter-of-EU-power-came-from-solar-for-the-first-time-in-June.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }