New analysis by energy think tank Ember reveals that, for the first time, solar power generated a tenth of EU-27 electricity during their peak months of June and July this year.
New records were set in eight EU countries, including Spain and Germany. However, solar panels still generated less electricity than Europe’s coal power plants, even during the height of their summer peak.
The analysis shows that annual growth in solar output needs to double to meet the EU’s 2030 emissions targets.
Growth of panels
The Ember analysis shows that Europe’s summer peaks in solar power generation that happen in June and July are getting bigger every year.
Panels powered by the sun generated a record 10% of EU electricity (39 TWh) in June-July 2021, up from 28 TWh in the same period in 2018.
Growth in the sector is apparently accelerating; the EU saw solar generation increase by 5.1 TWh between June-July 2020 and 2021, a larger year-on-year change than in 2020 (+3.1 TWh) or 2019 (+2.6 TWh).
Eight EU countries set a new solar record share during the summer peak this year: Estonia; Germany; Hungary; Lithuania; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; and Spain.
Seven EU countries generated over a tenth of their electricity from solar panels in June-July 2021, with the Netherlands (17%), Germany (17%), Spain (16%), Greece (13%) and Italy (13%) leading the way.
Future for solar power
Despite recent gains, the EU’s electricity generation from solar panels still remains less than coal power plants, which generated 14% of EU electricity in June-July 2021.
The EU-27 has added 14 TWh of solar generation every year on average in the last two years.
However, according to the European Commission, annual growth in the next decade must double to 30 TWh in order to meet the EU’s new 2030 climate targets.
The Ember report indicates that is now half the price to generate electricity from new solar panels than existing fossil plants across major markets including Germany, the UK, Italy, France and Spain.
The global average Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOEs) for utility-scale solar photovoltaic has collapsed from €325/MWh in 2010 to €49/MWh in 2020.