The week was marked by the release of SolarPower Europe’s two flagship market outlook reports, which helped frame the discussions taking place across the halls and ground them in the latest data. Global Solar Market Outlook 2026–2030 on Monday confirmed what is already visible on the ground: solar continues to scale at pace, with global capacity having tripled in just four years and set to grow strongly through the rest of the decade. At the same time, the report points to a shift in focus. Growth is no longer the only story. Increasingly, attention is turning to how that capacity is used, integrated, and made valuable within the wider energy system.
The European Battery Market Outlook on Tuesday picked up the same thread from a different angle. The European Battery Market Outlook 2026–2030 shows a market that is expanding quickly, with strong momentum in utility-scale projects and slower uptake in other segments. More than anything, it highlights how central storage has become to the next phase of the transition. Seen alongside solar, it is less a parallel market than part of the same system, where questions of flexibility, market design, and investment conditions are becoming harder to separate.
Beyond the flagship launches, the real detail came out in the sessions.
The launch of the Global Solar Market Outlook saw SolarPower Europe’s Executive Advisor and Director of Market Intelligence, Michael Schmela and CEO, Walburga Hemetsberger take the stage. Michael Schmela pointed to solar’s central role in the global energy transition, set to become the largest contributor to the COP28 goal of tripling renewable capacity by 2030, while Walburga Hemetsberger emphasised the growing importance of flexibility and batteries in making that system work.
On Wednesday, the European Battery Market Outlook launch session gave Senior Market Analyst Antonio Arruebo the opportunity to outline the pace of battery deployment and the scale-up still needed to support a solar-powered system.
In the Co-location of Solar & Storage: A True Win-Win Solution session, moderated by the Head of Battery Storage Europe Platform, Sonja Risteska, the focus was on practical ways to deal with curtailment, grid congestion, and price volatility. Co-location came through as an approach already being tested and deployed across different markets, reflecting a broader push to bring solar and storage closer together in practice.
Attention turned to Europe’s industrial base during the session on Solar Made in the EU, introduced by SolarPower Europe’s Dries Acke. This was also reflected on the exhibition floor, where SolarPower Europe led an industry tour with Beatriz Huidobro Laso from the European Commission’s DG GROW, showcasing European manufacturers. The discussion focused on the ongoing effort to strengthen domestic manufacturing and define what “Made in Europe” should mean in practice, reinforcing the urgency of a more supportive industrial framework.
Looking beyond Europe, the annual Global Associations workshop brought in perspectives from partners across 36 national associations, with a special welcome to those joining for the first time: Syria, Indonesia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia. Despite very different local contexts, the direction of travel felt familiar: solar continues to expand, but the focus is shifting towards system integration, flexibility, and making that growth deliver in practice. This event, co-organised by SolarPower Europe and BSW, and supported by the Global Solar Council, is always a particularly lively one, feeling like a family reuniting year after year.
But Intersolar doesn’t just happen on stage. It plays out in the flow of encounters and discussions all around.
At our shiny new booth, SolarPower Europe did its part in stirring the conversation along. Over three days, it became a steady meeting point for members, partners, and stakeholders from across the solar and storage value chain. Besides the discussions throughout the day, SolarPower Europe also hosted a networking lunch for members, as well as a get-together for the Battery Storage Europe Platform.
Each morning started with SolarPower Europe’s market intelligence breakfasts, where the latest figures from both outlooks were unpacked alongside the broader policy picture. These sessions also introduced the updated Market and Policy Navigator, now fully refreshed with the latest solar and storage data from our new reports.
Explore the Navigator here.
Of course, the SolarPower Europe booth party returned this year, once again marking a highlight of the week: a cheerful setting to catch up with new and familiar faces, and celebrate the successes of the week and beyond.
SolarPower Europe President Barbara Flesche summed up the week in a few words:
“SolarPower Europe is playing a very important role to bring together the solar and storage industry. We need to focus on making the right choices: flexibility, European-made components, public support and getting the whole system in place.”
While Intersolar has come to an end, the momentum certainly hasn’t. The energy from conversations and connections throughout the week will live on as we continue to advocate for the best policy framework for solar and storage to continue to grow in Europe.
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