SolarPower Europe: EU Solar Grew Slightly in the First Half of 2026, With Storage the Next Priority
SolarPower Europe says the EU solar market grew slightly in the first half of 2026, but that rooftop demand is weakening and storage and flexibility must scale up quickly.
What the mid-year update says
SolarPower Europe published its EU Solar Market Update: 2026 Mid-Year Analysis on 8 September. Its preliminary data shows the EU market growing slightly in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, and it expects a slight decline for the full year compared with 2025.
TaiyangNews, summarising the report, gives the first-half figure as 33.8 GW, against 33.2 GW a year earlier, and a 2026 expectation of 68.1 GW. These numbers come from that summary rather than from the press release itself, and the report notes that they may be revised as more registrations come in.
Solar is doing more of the work
The press release says solar produced more than 20% of EU electricity in May, June and July. In June it reached a record 25% share and was the EU's largest power source for the month.
It also puts the gas imports avoided since 1 March at more than EUR 30 billion.
Rooftop demand is weaker
The report points to weaker residential demand in several markets, with support schemes becoming less attractive or more uncertain. It names Czechia's changes to its New Green Savings Programme, further cuts to rooftop support in France and a debate in Germany about reducing support for new rooftop systems from 2027.
Commercial and industrial solar is described as more resilient. TaiyangNews reports rooftop's share of 2026 installations falling slightly, from 45% to 44%.
Why storage is the next topic
SolarPower Europe says more curtailment, falling solar capture prices, more negative-price periods and sharper evening price peaks are showing up in several markets. Its answer is faster investment in storage, electrification, flexibility and grid infrastructure, with more stable policy.
TaiyangNews reports an expectation of about 52 GWh of EU battery storage installed in 2026, up from 36 GWh in 2025, but with regulatory barriers and unclear business models slowing progress. Storage forecasts from different analysts use different scopes, so they are not directly comparable. For what negative prices mean for households, see our note on dynamic tariffs and home batteries.
Sources
- SolarPower Europe: New report, solar powers Europe through another energy crisis, but policy support falls short
- TaiyangNews: SolarPower Europe Lifts 2026 EU Solar Forecast After H1 Growth
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