The European Union installed a record 41.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2022, up 47% from the year earlier, as a result of climate goals, soaring electricity prices and as member countries sought to find more reliable energy sources following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Germany was again Europe’s biggest solar market in 2022 with 7.9 GW of newly installed capacity, followed by Spain with 7.5 GW, according to a report by industry group SolarPower Europe.
The industry group said the EU solar market in 2022 was 38%, or 10 GW, higher than what it expected one year ago.
“We are confident that further annual market growth will beat all expectations, exceed 50 GW deployment level in 2023, and more than double from today to 85 GW in 2026,” it said.
“While this is the ‘most likely’ forecast, we could see up to 68 GW installed next year, and nearly 120 GW of annual installation in 4 years,” it added.
The EU’s top 10 solar markets were responsible for 87% of total installations in 2022 versus 90% in 2021.