The latest SolarPower Europe report has indicated who are the top 10 solar PV markets for 2024, showing shifts in growth trends among EU countries.
Only half of the top 10 markets installed more capacity compared to 2023, marking a contrast with previous years of widespread growth. Declines in deployment were observed in Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, and Hungary, driven by post-energy price crisis market slowness, policy instability, and other structural challenges. Countries that achieved net annual increases, such as France, Greece, Italy, and Germany, saw modest growth, with France leading at 1.5 GW additional capacity.
The Netherlands experienced the steepest decline, with installations dropping by 1.8 GW due to uncertainty over net metering policies. Spain’s rooftop solar market also contracted, reflecting the depletion of EU Recovery and Resilience Fund incentives and normalized electricity prices. Poland and Austria saw reductions linked to policy changes and economic pressures, while Hungary faced challenges in its residential market due to the transition from net metering to net billing.
Minimal changes were noted in the top 10 rankings, with Greece and Portugal entering the list, replacing Sweden and Belgium. The threshold for the top 10 rose to 2.0 GW, highlighting an overall expansion of solar markets despite individual market contractions. Across the EU, 16 Member States achieved over 1 GW of new capacity, setting a new record.
Germany
SolarPower Europe has unveiled the top 10 solar PV markets for 2024, with Germany maintaining its leading position. Over the first three quarters, nearly 12 GW of reported solar installations were connected to the power grid, likely underreported due to delays in market registrations. Projections indicate a total market size of 16.1 GW for the year, representing a 7 percent increase over 2023. While this reflects growth, it is slower compared to the doubling of installations seen in 2023. The third quarter alone accounted for over 3.5 GW, with September contributing a record 1.2 GW in newly commissioned PV systems.
Battery storage also expanded, reaching an estimated 17.3 GWh of installed capacity by Q3 2024, spread across 1.7 million systems. New installations amounted to 4.54 GWh, just 1 percent above the previous year, with notable growth in commercial and large-scale storage systems. The third quarter saw 170,000 new storage systems installed, with commercial systems growing by 9 percent and large-scale systems by 90 percent year-on-year. These trends underscore the rising importance of storage in Germany’s renewable energy strategy.
The growth was driven by ground-mounted and commercial rooftop systems. Ground-mounted systems added 4.2 GW in the first nine months, a 50 percent year-on-year increase, with unsubsidised projects contributing 1.27 GW. Commercial rooftop systems expanded by 36 percent, while the residential segment declined by 12 percent, reflecting a stabilisation after the peak demand during the energy crisis and pandemic.
Germany’s market has benefited from strong policy support, including the 2022 “Easter Package,” which set ambitious targets of 215 GW of installed capacity by 2030 and 22 GW annually by 2026. Policy measures streamlined grid connections, promoted innovative solar applications like agri-PV and floating PV, and provided VAT exemptions for small systems. While residential installations slowed, a 25 percent increase in the utility-scale sector helped offset the decline, reinforcing Germany’s leadership in solar PV expansion.
Spain
SolarPower Europe has unveiled the top 10 solar PV markets for 2024, with Spain maintaining a leading position in Europe. In 2023, Spain installed nearly 9 GW of solar capacity, a 5.8 percent increase from 2022, solidifying its status as the second-largest solar market in Europe after Germany. The ground-mounted segment grew by 26 percent, while the residential sector contracted by 32 percent, trends that have continued into 2024. By the first three quarters of 2024, approximately 5 GW of new capacity had been added. Solar PV contributed 14 percent to Spain’s electricity mix in 2023, increasing to 18 percent in 2024. Spain also remained a net exporter of electricity, with a total net export balance of 8.4 TWh as of 2024.
Ground-mounted installations reached 7.3 GW in 2023, a 30 percent increase from the previous year, with an additional 3.8 GW installed by October 2024. These installations have been achieved without subsidies, as auctions were postponed, and stakeholders have relied on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and spot market prices. PPA volumes peaked at 5.3 GW in 2022 but declined to 4.6 GW in 2023. Competitive PPA prices, averaging 38.5 EUR/MWh in 2023, have supported solar development, even as spot market prices averaged significantly higher at 87.1 EUR/MWh. Spain’s wholesale market experienced occasional zero-euro prices per megawatt-hour, though minimum prices remained above -2 EUR, reflecting a stable market balance compared to other EU nations.
The self-consumption segment has stabilised after a peak in 2022, with total installations dropping by 32 percent in 2023 to 1.7 GW. The residential segment was the most affected, contracting by 53 percent, from 963 MW in 2022 to 446 MW in 2023. This decline has continued into 2024, influenced by inflation, high interest rates, and a perception of lower energy costs, despite current prices of 46 EUR/MWh. These dynamics highlight a maturing solar market driven by evolving economic and policy frameworks.
Italy
Italy’s solar PV market has continued its growth trajectory in 2024, with installations in the first half of the year increasing by 44 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Between January and June, 3.3 GW of capacity was added, bringing Italy’s cumulative solar fleet to 33.6 GW across more than 1.75 million PV systems. Residential systems contributed 839 MW, accounting for 25 percent of new installations, followed by medium-sized systems at 731 MW (22 percent) and solar plants above 10 MW at 540 MW (16 percent). Lombardy (4.6 GW) and Veneto (3.49 GW) emerged as the leading regions in operating capacity, with Aosta Valley (39 MW) having the lowest.
The second half of 2024 is expected to show moderate growth, with total annual installations projected at 5.5–6 GW. While this reflects an upward trend, it falls short of the pace required to meet REPowerEU targets, which demand an annual installation of 8 GW. Italy’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) targets 54 GW of new PV capacity between 2022 and 2030, aiming for a total of 79 GW of solar by 2030. Industry associations highlight the need for at least 57 GW of new capacity during 2024–2030, with a focus on utility-scale projects to reduce costs and enhance grid security.
Achieving these targets will require addressing challenges in system integration, including repowering existing plants and deploying 80 GWh of large-scale storage. Meeting these goals will mobilize €320 billion in investments and create 540,000 jobs in the electricity sector and its supply chain. Solar capacity expansion, along with other renewable technologies, is expected to cut Italy’s CO2 equivalent emissions by 75 percent from 1990 levels by 2030, reinforcing the critical role of solar PV in Italy’s energy transition.
France
In the first three quarters of 2024, France added 3.5 GW of solar capacity, a significant increase from the 2.3 GW installed during the same period in 2023. The growth has been primarily driven by the ‘S21’ feed-in tariff for power plants under 500 kW, with the 100-500 kW segment alone accounting for 1.3 GW of connections in Q2 2024. Smaller PV systems also contributed, with 618,000 residential installations engaging in self-consumption, a 74 percent year-on-year increase. Total PV generation reached 21.1 TWh for the first three quarters, representing 6 percent of national electricity consumption, supported by a cumulative installed capacity of 23.7 GW as of Q3 2024.
The upcoming Multi-Annual Energy Planning (MAEP) framework is expected to set ambitious PV development targets, ranging from 54 to 60 GW by 2030 and 75 to 100 GW by 2035. Public consultations and legislative reviews are underway to finalize these plans. The French Renewable Energy Trade Association (SER) is preparing regional roadmaps to align with these targets, ensuring readiness for regional implementation by 2025.
Key growth drivers include the government’s “Solar Pact,” which incentivizes developers to use PV panels produced within the EU, with commitments escalating from 2024 to 2027. Future support mechanisms may include bonuses for EU-made PV projects under the Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA). Agrivoltaics is also emerging as a promising sector, supported by new regulations defined under the 2023 Renewable Energy Acceleration Act. Additional measures, such as mandatory solar installations on buildings and car parks, are further boosting solar deployment.
Poland
Solar PV leads Poland’s renewable energy landscape in both development pace and installed capacity. By December 2023, 17.1 GW of Poland’s 28.8 GW renewable energy capacity came from solar PV, marking a 40 percent increase compared to 2022. However, the annual installed capacity in 2023 remained flat compared to 2022, signaling market stagnation. As of October 2024, the cumulative installed solar PV capacity reached 19.9 GW, with projections to hit 20.5 GW by year-end.
Residential prosumer installations dominate Poland’s solar PV market, with over 1.5 million micro-installations (≤50 kW) accounting for 12.3 GW of capacity by September 2024. This growth has been fueled by government grants and environmental awareness. However, the transition from a net-metering to a net-billing system in April 2022, along with energy price freezes for individual consumers, has tempered the growth of micro-installations. Larger rooftop systems (50 kW–1 MW) and ground-mounted PV parks (>1 MW) have partially offset this slowdown.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Climate and Environment introduced new targets under the National Energy and Climate Plan, aiming for renewable energy to comprise 32.6 percent of gross final energy consumption by 2030. Solar PV capacity is projected to reach 29.3 GW by 2030 and 46.2 GW by 2040.
Baburajan Kizhakedath