The European Solar Communication-Will It Pave the Road to Achieve 1 TW of Photovoltaic System Capacity in the European Union by 2030?

The urgency of a clean energy transition in the European Union is now not only driven by concerns about climate change, but also by using local renewable energy resources to reduce the dependency on foreign energy imports. Solar photovoltaic electricity generation is acknowledged as one of the pillars of this transition and various policy measures were implemented over the last two years to not only accelerate the deployment of solar photovoltaic electricity generation systems, but also to rebuild a competitive solar value chain in Europe to hedge against solar photovoltaic component supply chain disruptions. However, the current political ambitions still do not pay sufficient attention to the importance of solar photovoltaics as a major contributor to the necessary future renewable energy supply. According to the market trend between 2017 and 2022, the currently average EU installed capacity of 474.55 W-p/capita will not reach the necessary 2246 W-p/capita or 1 TWp target by 2030. At the moment, only seven member states have an installed capacity per capita higher than the average EU value.

Automated summary

The urgency of transitioning to clean energy in the European Union is driven by both climate change concerns and reducing foreign energy dependence through local renewable resources. Solar photovoltaic electricity generation is recognized as essential, but current political ambitions do not prioritize its importance. Market trends indicate that the average EU installed capacity will not reach the necessary target by 2030. Only seven member states have a higher per capita installed capacity than the EU average.