From residential to utility-scale installations, the solar market is booming in Europe. A huge 25.9 GW of new solar capacity was installed in 2021, up 34% on the 19.3 GW installed in 2020, marking an all-time high, according to the latest market forecast from industry association SolarPower Europe.

When it comes to sheer volume, Germany once again came out on top with 5.3 GW installed in 2021, followed by Spain with 3.8 GW, the Netherlands 3.3 GW, Poland 3.2 GW and France 2.5 GW.

But measured on a per capita basis, it is the Netherlands that has emerged as Europe’s solar powerhouse, with more capacity installed per person than any other country at 765 watts/person, ahead of Germany (715 watts/person) and Belgium (596 watts/person).

In absolute terms, the EU’s solar fleet now amounts to 164.9 GW, up 19% from 2020, and there is no end in sight to the technology’s potential. Last year, 25 out of the EU’s 27 member states installed more solar power than the year before.

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