EU solar reaches record heights of 56 GW in 2023
December 19 , 2023 | 1726
Recently SolarPower Europe, the trade organization for the European PV industry, released the European PV Market Outlook 2023-2027. It reports a record 56 GW of solar installations in Europe in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of at least 40% annual growth. Germany leads with 14.1 GW, followed by Spain, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands. Central and Eastern European countries, including Czechia, Bulgaria, and Romania, enter the 1 GW solar threshold.
The solar sector responded to the energy crisis, nearing the International Energy Agency's 60 GW target for 2023 to compensate for the Russian gas phase-out. The EU's total solar capacity reaches 263 GW, up 27% from 2022. However, the report forecasts slower growth in 2024 at 11%, departing from three years of 40% growth.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, urges policymakers to support solar, emphasizing the need to meet 2030 targets. Germany regains its top solar ranking, installing 14.1 GW in 2023, setting a record for the most installed in a year by an EU country.
The growth in 2023, driven by delayed 2022 installations, faces challenges such as prolonged grid connection times and permitting issues. The EU rooftop solar market grows by 54%, but utility-scale market share declines by 6%. Rooftop solar reaches 37 GW in 2023, while utility-scale solar reaches 19 GW.
The report highlights solar manufacturing challenges, with inverter capacity growing by 14%, polysilicon and ingot manufacturing facing setbacks, and limited European-produced solar PV meeting less than 2% of demand.
Dries Acke, Policy Director at SolarPower Europe, stresses the importance of favorable investment conditions and addresses issues like slow grid connections, permitting delays, trade barriers, and the need to re-shore European solar manufacturing.
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