Introduction

Europe was hit by a record-breaking heatwave in late June 2026, with countries setting new records for temperatures. There have been cases where nuclear power plants shut down due to rising river water temperatures, raising concerns about the impact of global warming on electricity supply. This article summarizes recent trends in the European Union (EU) regarding measures to support and promote PV deployment.

EU PV deployment targets

In May 2022, the EU announced the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels from Russia. At the same time, as part of accelerating the transition to clean energy, the EU Solar Energy Strategy (hereafter referred to as the Strategy) was also formulated. Within this plan, quantitative targets for PV deployment were set at 320 GWac (400 GWdc) by 2025 and 600 GWac (750 GWdc) by 2030.

Challenges and countermeasures in the EU market

According to SolarPower Europe (SPE), the EU’s cumulative PV installed capacity by the end of 2025 reached 407 GW, and the 2025 target has been achieved. However, SPE has expressed concerns that the 2030 target may not be achieved. This is due to challenges such as shortages of suitable sites, delays in grid connections, output curtailment, and changes in the value of PV power due to increases in hours of negative pricing in the electricity trading market. SPE has announced its outlook that annual market growth is not expected, with cumulative PV installed capacity in 2030 projected to be 718 GW (a moderate scenario), falling short of the target of 750 GW. Concerns about missing targets have also emerged, but after the Strategy was announced, the European Commission (EC) has formulated the following specific measures and policies to achieve the targets and address these challenges.

PV deployment support measures in the EU

・Mandatory PV installation on buildings: The European Solar Rooftop Initiative outlined in the Strategy aims to promote rapid and large-scale PV deployment by setting a policy for mandatory installation in public and commercial facilities, as well as residential houses. The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), revised in 2024, legislates mandatory installation, and member states are expected to implement the requirements in a phased manner.

・Responses to site constraints and ensuring harmony with local communities: The Strategy cites measures enabling large-scale PV deployment, including agrivoltaics (AgriPV), floating PV including offshore installations, and multipurpose use of transportation infrastructure spaces such as highways and railway tracks. Challenges such as land-use competition and acceptance by local residents are underlying issues. The potential for these installations is very high; for example, the EC Joint Research Centre estimates that over 400 GW of vertical PV systems can be installed along roads and railways in EU member states.

・Positioning of agrivoltaics (AgriPV): The Strategy suggests that when member states formulate national strategies for the Common Agricultural Policy, they should consider incentives and support frameworks for Agri-PV, such as dedicated Agri-PV auctions. In September 2025, the European Parliament adopted the Future of Agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy from 2027 Onward, positioning Agri-PV as a key element of agricultural policy. The policy target is to integrate agricultural activities with renewable energy, and the promotion of Agri-PV as a source of income supplementing agricultural income is explicitly stated. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and others have already advanced efforts related to AgriPV, and expansion to other member states is expected.

・Accelerating permitting and licensing: The EU’s Affordable Energy Action Plan (February 2025) stipulates that permitting and licensing processes for the introduction of renewable energy and storage batteries, as well as the construction of transmission grids, will be digitized under the framework of “attracting investment and ensuring reliable implementation,” significantly shortening the time required for these processes. This will stimulate the expansion of interconnection capacity and the introduction of storage batteries, and is expected to increase hosting capacity.

・Electrification Action Plan: The Electrification Action Plan announced in July 2026 aims to raise the share of electricity in energy consumption from 23% in 2026 to 46% by 2040, turning Europe into an “electrically driven continent.” Full implementation of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) and improvements to the renewable energy bidding system will be pursued. It was announced that the installed capacity of battery energy storage systems (BESS) will increase from 55 GW in 2026 to 200 GW by 2030.

・Restructuring the supply chain: The Strategy prioritizes restructuring the PV supply chain. The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which came into effect in June 2024, sets a target for EU products to supply 40% of the EU’s annual renewable energy deployment needs by 2030, and investment in EU manufacturing of PV cells, modules, and storage batteries is expected to intensify going forward.

Conclusion

In 2025 in the EU, wind and PV power generation accounted for 30% of electricity generation, surpassing the share of fossil fuels (29%) for the first time. Although some member states are slowing renewable energy adoption due to concerns about economic efficiency, cost efficiency, and grid instability in response to the increasing deployment of variable energy sources, integration with power storage technologies such as storage batteries, whose costs are decreasing, is also progressing as a means of providing a stable power supply (firm power).

In the EU, the introduction of renewable energy is positioned not only as a measure against climate change but also as a pillar of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring energy security. For the EU to escape “geopolitical risks,” renewable energy deployment is considered essential and irreversible. As mentioned above, the EU’s Solar Energy Strategy outlines challenges and measures to overcome them, and concrete legal frameworks and policies are being developed.

Table 1 compares EU and Japanese policies. There is much to learn from the EU’s policies, and we hope Japan will formulate a PV power generation strategy following the semiconductor industry strategy and the battery and power supply industry strategy.

Table 1 Comparison of PV Initiatives by Japan and the European Union (EU)

* Based on materials from the 47th meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energyand the capacity adopted in the Sixth Strategic Energy Plan, converted from power generation (PV: 1,244 kWh/kW)

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