L R AS Published on Saturday 9 January 2021 - n° 345 - Categories:Europe
Growth of PV installations in Europe in 2020: +11% to 18.7
The turbulence that shook most sectors in 2020 has hardly affected solar energy in Europe. The sector has grown by 11%, making it the year of the strongest growth for solar energy since 2011 with 18.7 GW installed, according to SolarPower Europe.
Germany, the Netherlands and Spain,
Poland and France are now the main solar markets in Europe. Germany, the country with the largest population in the EU, also has the highest ratio of solar capacity per inhabitant with 650 W per inhabitant, and an additional 4.8 GW in 2020. The Netherlands has added 2.8 GW of capacity to its park, while Spain, the market leader last year, has grown by 2.6 GW, of which almost 2.5 GW will be added in 2020.Almost 1.5 GW of this came from systems based on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), making Spain the world's largest market for solar energy without subsidies. Poland, generally regarded as a country lagging behind in clean energy, soared, adding 2.2 GW, more than double the capacity it added last year. At the same time, France has crossed the threshold of 10 GW of installed capacity, although it has installed just under 1 GW in 2020.
A key tool for accelerating the sector's growth in Europe is the EU's new-generation recovery plan, with its €672.5bn Recovery and Resilience Facility, 37% of which is earmarked exclusively for climate spending. »
90% of Europe's roofs are unused and ready to be installed with solar power. Member states are also due to deploy 1 million charging points for electric vehicles, which can be powered by solar energy.
A recent study by Finland's LUT university shows that solar energy has the potential to create up to four million green jobs in Europe by 2050. After the health crisis, renewable energy offers a unique opportunity to boost Europe's economy and stimulate the clean energy transition, creating green growth and jobs around the world.
This trend is expected to continue in 2021, with a 23% growth forecast for the EU solar market, bringing new installations to 22.4 GW. This would be an all-time record for the EU, beating the 2011 record of 21.3 GW, when generous feed-in tariffs had massively boosted the sector. Over the next four years, the EU will see double-digit growth. Installations worldwide are expected to reach the terawatt (1 000 GW) scale by 2022.
Tecsol of 16 December 2020
+
According to SolarPower Europe, photovoltaic installations in Europe (137 GW by the end of 2020) are expected to double between 2020 (18.7 GW) and 2024 (35 GW), bringing the total to 252 GW.
SolarPower Europe of 15 December 2020
