The Future of Europe is Electric

We began the month with our Rooftop REconnect event. Even if unpredictable Brussels weather meant moving to the solar-covered greenhouse, the event was a great success. It was an excellent opportunity to (re)connect with policy makers, other stakeholders and partners.

The highlight of the evening clearly was the keynote speech by European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, who expressed strong support for Europe’s transition to renewable energy and away from dependence on fossil fuels:

“Better to seize the opportunities connected to this transformation than to wait and see what is the additional cost that we may be paying... Swapping pipelines for tankers does not set Europe free. It simply moves the choke point.” 

We were also joined on stage by Members of the European Parliament Nicolás González Casares, Jutta Paulus, Andrea Wechsler, and Annalisa Corrado. Together with our coalition partners, we launched the new #KeepTheTarget campaign, calling on the European Commission to maintain a renewable energy target and set new ambitions for 2040, providing long-term visibility for investors. We invite you to add your voice to the campaign here. 

Similar ambition was echoed in President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in the European Parliament, where she repeated her call to “make Europe’s future electric”.  An electric Europe can strengthen our energy security, improve the competitiveness of European businesses and ease energy costs for citizens. 
 
Solar is already showing what this future can deliver. In June, solar generated 25% of EU electricity, becoming the bloc’s largest source of power for the month. Since the start of the Iran War, solar has helped avoid more than €36 billion in gas imports for power generation. These are more than impressive figures: they show that solar is already strengthening Europe’s energy security, resilience and competitiveness. 
 
However, our latest EU Solar Market Update shows that this progress cannot be taken for granted. Preliminary data indicates that the EU solar market grew only slightly in the first half of 2026, while a small full-year contraction compared with 2025 remains likely. Under current market and policy conditions, Europe is still off track to meet its 2030 solar target. 
 
The lesson is clear: solar is delivering, but the framework around it must catch up. Across Europe, weakening policy support, regulatory uncertainty and grid constraints are making investment more difficult. At the same time, rising curtailment, negative-price periods and evening price peaks underline the need to move faster on flexibility and storage. The EU’s objective of 200 GW of energy storage must become a reality, supported by modernised grids, faster permitting and effective implementation of the rules already agreed.