Solar Power Europe Terms 2024 A ‘Warning’ As Solar Growth Slumps To 4%

After years of stellar growth, the EU solar sector has been hit by a significant deployment slowdown – tumbling from 53% growth in 2023 to 4% in 2024, amounting to a 92% slowdown in solar growth over the last year. With 65.5 GW of new solar in 2024, the sector just inched past its 2023 record of 62.8 GW. Despite the slide, solar PV still installed more than all other power technologies combined in 2024, bringing the EU’s operating solar power fleet to 338 GW. This lower growth, combined with record low wholesale module prices in 2024 (down 70% since the August 2022 peak) , have meant that actual investments in solar dropped 13% during the year to Euro 55 billion. Average CAPEX for rooftop PV systems decreased by 2%, while ground-mounted PV systems saw a sharper 28% decline in 2024.

The projection for 2030 is for 816 GW.
The slowdown is not too surprising. Following the solar boom during the gas crisis, the urgency of going solar has waned for citizens as their bills normalise. Developers face challenges for different reasons. The energy system has not kept up with the solar growth curve, and building bankable utility-scale solar becomes more difficult as grid and flexibility bottlenecks tighten. Solar Power Europe anticipates low single-digit annual growth rates of 3-7% between 2025 and 2028. This would be good enough for the EU to meet its 2030 solar target of 750 GW. However, for the first time as this report warns, in its low scenario Europe could actually miss this target altogether – by 100 GW.

Furthermore, where EU structural support winds down (the NextGenEU and Recovery and Resilience Facility close in 2026), it urges for new support efforts to take over – not least to support flexibility and grid development.

Utility and C&I Segments Gained As Residential Rooftop Grinds To A Halt

 

After record additions through 2022 and 2023, residential rooftop segment slumped the most in 2024, dropping by 5 GW to 12.8 GW in 2024. Levels seen in 2022. That meant the market share of residential segment is down from 28% in 2023 to 20% in 2024. Utility segments therefore grew its marketshare to  42% from 36%, even as C&I grew to 39% from 36%. Among other challenges, the report flags low flexibility hindering large-scale PV. Grid congestion and lack of storage lead to a rise in negative electricity prices and higher curtailment rates, diminishing the financial appeal for solar investments.

The full report can be accessed here.