BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 20. Germany is poised to lead the European solar power market by surpassing all other countries in capacity addition, Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and business intelligence company from Norway, said, Trend reports.
In 2023, Germany saw an outstanding surge, clocking in an impressive growth of over 14 GW direct current (GWDC), primarily fueled by the widespread adoption of rooftop PV systems. Approximately 6.5 GWDC of rooftop solar was installed for residential use, providing yearly power to around 1.3 million households. On the commercial and industry (C&I) front, an additional 3.5 GWDC was set up, with over 70 percent of the newfound capacity coming from rooftop installations. These rooftop setups played a crucial role in driving the growth of solar PV, not just in Germany but also across Europe.
Overall, according to Rystad Energy's projections, solar PV energy is expected to see a substantial increase of approximately 50 TWh in 2024. This growth, surpassing that of any other generation source for the first time, is attributed to significant capacity installations across the region.
Meanwhile, as Europe gears up to add new capacity, there's an anticipation that wind power generation will see a boost of 38 TWh in 2024. However, as the agency noted, the projected capacity additions are only hovering around 25 GW, falling short of what's needed for Europe to meet its ambitious decarbonization targets.