The production volume of electricity from solar photovoltaic power in the European Union has been steadily increasing in the last years. In 2023, the
stood at over 240 terawatt hours. In comparison, solar PV generation two years earlier was 158 terawatt hours, which indicates an increase in production of over 50 percent in just two years. In 2023, Germany was the
, amounting to more than 60 terawatt-hours. That is roughly one-fourth of the total generation in the European Union.
Solar PV capacity in the EU
Aside from having the highest solar PV generation, Germany has the largest cumulative installed capacity, and was also the
country with the most capacity additions in 2023. In that year, the country’s solar capacity increased by roughly 14.6 gigawatts. Meanwhile, the country with the highest installed
solar capacity per capita was the Netherlands, surpassing 1.3 kilowatts per inhabitant. This is considerably higher than the European Union’s average, which amounted to roughly 572.5 watts per inhabitant in 2023. Regarding prospective installations, southern European countries had by far the
highest solar PV capacity in the pipeline, which amounted to more than 200 gigawatts as of June 2024.
Solar PV employment and manufacturing in the EU
Most of the
European Union’s solar employment was linked to solar deployment, which accounted for roughly 542,400 full-time equivalents, including both direct and indirect jobs. Meanwhile, manufacturing jobs in the sector stood at slightly over 48,200. Manufacturing jobs involve the production of certain
solar components such as polysilicon, inverters, and modules. As of August 2024, the inverter production capacity in the EU reached some 81.1 gigawatts, while that of modules stood at 14.1 gigawatts.
The future of solar PV in Europe
The solar photovoltaic market has grown rapidly in the last years. Since 2020, solar installations in the European Union have almost doubled, reaching a cumulative capacity of more than 250 gigawatts in 2023. The market is forecast to continue growing at an accelerated pace. Europe's solar pipeline surpassed 280 gigawatts as of August 2024, with 19 gigawatts already under construction and 197 gigawatts in the pre-construction stage.
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