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Solar photovoltaic in Europe - Statistics & Facts

The production volume of electricity from solar photovoltaic power in the European Union (EU) has been steadily increasing in the last years. In 2021, over 157 terawatt-hours were produced, compared to 105 terawatt-hours recorded five years earlier. In 2021, Germany was the country with the highest electricity generation from solar photovoltaics, amounting to almost 50 terawatt-hours. That is roughly one-third of the total generation in the European Union.

Solar PV capacity in the EU

Aside from having the highest solar PV generation, Germany has the largest cumulative installed capacity and was also the country with the most capacity additions in 2021. In that year, the country’s solar capacity increased by roughly five gigawatts. Meanwhile, the country with the highest installed solar capacity per capita was the Netherlands, surpassing 815 watts per inhabitant. This is considerably higher than the European Union’s average, which amounted to roughly 355 watts per inhabitant in 2021. Regarding new installations, Spain was the country with the highest solar PV capacity under construction as of January 2023.

Solar PV employment and manufacturing in the EU

Most of the European Union’s solar employment was linked to solar deployment, which accounted for roughly 367 thousand full-time equivalents, including both direct and indirect jobs. Meanwhile, manufacturing jobs in the sector stood at slightly over 44 thousand. Manufacturing jobs involve the production of certain solar components such as polysilicon, inverters, and modules. As of 2023, the inverter production capacity in the EU reached almost 70 gigawatts, while that of modules stood at 9.2 gigawatts.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Lucía Fernández, Feb 9, 2023

Key insights

Cumulative solar PV capacity in the EU
158.9 GW
Solar PV capacity per inhabitant in the EU
355.3 W/inhab
Solar PV capacity added in the EU
22.8 GW
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Annual volume of electricity produced from solar photovoltaic in the European Union (EU-27) in 2021, by country (in gigawatt hours)

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Solar photovoltaic electricity production in the European Union (EU-27) 2021

Solar photovoltaic capacity per capita in the European Union (EU-27*) from 2017 to 2021 (in watts per inhabitant)

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Solar photovoltaics capacity per inhabitant in the European Union (EU-27) 2017-2021

Cumulative installed solar thermal surfaces in the European Union (EU) in 2021, by country (in m²)

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Solar thermal surfaces installed in the European Union 2021, by country

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