EU’s record solar summer helps avoid €29bn in gas imports

Between May and August 2022, the EU generated a record 12.2% of its electricity from solar power, totaling 99.4 TWh. This generation helped the EU avoid the purchase of an additional 20 bcm of fossil gas, resulting in potential cost savings of €29 billion based on average daily gas prices for that period. Solar share records were broken in 18 of 27 EU countries, with the Netherlands achieving the highest share at 23%. The report argues that while solar deployment is accelerating, permitting bottlenecks must be addressed to meet 1.5C and REPowerEU targets, which include a proposed 45% renewable energy target for 2030.

• From May to August 2022, the EU generated a record 12.2% of its electricity from solar power, totaling 99.4 TWh, which is a 28% increase from the 77.7 TWh generated in the same period the previous year.
• The record solar generation allowed the EU to avoid purchasing an additional 20 bcm of fossil gas, equating to avoided costs of €29 billion. The year-on-year growth of 22 TWh in solar power alone saved over €6 billion and 4 bcm of gas.
• Solar share records were broken in 18 of 27 EU countries. The Netherlands had the highest solar share in the power mix at 23%, followed by Germany at 19% and Spain at 17%. Poland saw the largest increase in solar generation since 2018, increasing its output 26 times.
• Despite accelerating growth, current projections for solar capacity additions in 2026 meet only 46% of the value required under 1.5C pathways, primarily due to permitting bottlenecks and project development times exceeding legally binding limits.

APA

Czyżak, P., Brown, S., Dizon, R., Broadbent, H., & Fulghum, N. (2022). EU’s record solar summer helps avoid €29bn in gas imports. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Analysis-EUs-record-solar-summer-helps-avoid-E29bn-in-gas-imports.pdf

Chicago

Czyżak, Pałł, Sarah Brown, Reynaldo Dizon, Hannah Broadbent, and Nicolas Fulghum. EU’s record solar summer helps avoid €29bn in gas imports. Ember, 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Analysis-EUs-record-solar-summer-helps-avoid-E29bn-in-gas-imports.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{czyak2022eus, author = {Czyżak, Pałł and Brown, Sarah and Dizon, Reynaldo and Broadbent, Hannah and Fulghum, Nicolas}, title = {{EU’s record solar summer helps avoid €29bn in gas imports}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Analysis-EUs-record-solar-summer-helps-avoid-E29bn-in-gas-imports.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }