SolarPower Europe, a trading body representing the European solar energy industry, has released a report predicting the solar power generation on the European continent for the next four years, with European solar developers expected to install a record breaking 56GW of new solar installed capacity in 2023.

The report titled "2023-2027 European Solar Market Outlook" predicts that from 2022 to 2023, Europe's solar installed capacity will increase by 40%, marking the third consecutive year of at least 40% year-on-year increase in new installed capacity. Although the group expects a slowdown in the pace of new installed capacity in 2024, with an expected increase of only 11% and an installed capacity of 62GW, it is expected to achieve installed capacity growth in nine of the top ten solar markets on the African continent in 2023.

Walburg Hemesberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, stated that solar companies continue to provide record breaking installations for crisis stricken Europe. Now, as solar energy enters its own turning point, Europe must provide solar energy.

Hemetsberger added that we have not yet reached the average annual output of 70GW required to achieve the 2030 solar energy target. It is obvious that policymakers cannot be complacent in the next decade.

In 2022, Spain surpassed Germany to become the country with the highest installed solar capacity in Europe, adding 8.4GW in 2022, while Germany added 7.4GW. However, the report predicts that by the end of 2023, Germany will return to the top of the rankings, with Germany's new installed capacity expected to almost double to 14.1GW, while Spain's growth will reduce the new installed capacity to 8.2GW.

Spain is the only country among the top ten solar energy markets predicted in the report to have a lower installed capacity in 2023 than the previous year. The report points out that although the Spanish solar industry achieved an important milestone in 2022, the slowdown in rooftop photovoltaics is particularly likely to hinder the industry's long-term growth.

According to SolarPower Europe's data, Spain will need to install 1.9GW of roof capacity annually for the next seven years to meet the country's national energy and climate plan (NECP) requirement of 19GW of domestic solar capacity installation, which has only been achieved once in the past decade.Editor/XingWentao