With less than 5 years left to attain its 2030 climate and energy targets, the European Union still faces a significant shortfall in meeting these goals. Despite an acceleration on the deployment of renewable energy capacity in recent years, notably solar PV, current projections indicate that 2030 solar and wind capacity targets won’t be met on time, leaving a gap to bridge in the EU renewable power and energy shares. While the 2030 targets have been set with the objective to curb the negative effects of climate change, the attainment of these targets can reap massive additional benefits for EU citizens and businesses. An electrified and renewable based energy system brings huge system cost savings to EU taxpayers, lower and less volatile electricity prices for energy consumers, and reduced dependence on expensive and unreliable fossil fuel imports – a critical issue that the EU is experiencing for the second time in less than five years.
This report “Solar+: An EU pathway to achieve renewable targets, price affordability, and energy security” published by SolarPower Europe demonstrates that scaling up solar power and battery storage, as the cheapest and most versatile forms of power generation, offers the most effective and immediate pathway to deliver on all three pillars of the energy trilemma: sustainability, affordability, and security. The report identifies a sweet spot where consumers benefit from lower average prices, while preserving the business case for large-scale solar investments, which has become increasingly unattractive as more frequent negative price-hour events decrease the value of solar power. Despite the expansion in variable renewables, the occurrence of negative pricing hours does not increase and wholesale day-ahead electricity prices are reduced.
To unlock the full potential of solar + storage, Europe must adopt a comprehensive flexibility-first approach to its energy system. This includes establishing an EU Flexibility Strategy, supported by a dedicated Battery Storage Action Plan, to ensure that storage and demand-side flexibility are fully integrated into market design, grid planning, and investment frameworks. As the analysis shows, battery storage is the key enabler of a high-renewables EU energy system, allowing solar power to be shifted in time, stabilising prices, and enhancing system efficiency.
Access the report here