The global growth of electricity generation from solar energy continues dynamically. The "sound barrier" of two terawatts of installed PV capacity was broken worldwide. In the past two years, more generation capacity for solar power was built than in the previous 68 years combined. A key reason for this development is the falling prices for photovoltaic modules.

In order to maintain this market momentum, the leading players and minds of the solar industry are meeting again this year at Intersolar Europe. This year, the world's leading trade fair for the solar industry will take place from May 7 to 9 as part of The smarter E Europe, Europe's largest trade fair alliance for the energy industry, at Messe München.

The current study by the industry association SolarPower Europe shows that 2024 was a record year: 65.5 GW of new PV capacity was installed in Europe. A total of 816 GW of PV capacity is expected to be installed by 2030. This corresponds to a tripling of the 2024 capacity (338 GW) in just six years.

In order to fully exploit this potential, solar energy needs to be intelligently integrated into the energy system: the expansion of the power grids, the flexibilization and digitalization of the infrastructure and a significant expansion of storage capacities are essential. At the same time, the electrification of transport and heat must be accelerated. This opens up a multitude of opportunities to further advance the energy transition.

Falling PV costs further drive competitiveness

A key factor in the reduction in solar power prices is the price of photovoltaic modules. According to OPIS, the price reporting agency of Dow Jones, in November 2024 these were in the range of 6 to 13 euro cents per watt peak (€ct/Wp) in Germany, the equivalent of around 9 €ct/Wp in China and the equivalent of around 27 to 28 €ct/Wp in the United States.

Due to the strong reduction in this area over the years, the cost share of modules in the total system costs of a PV system has fallen to less than 30 percent. At the same time, inverters and BOS (balance of system) components have also become significantly cheaper. This market development and economies of scale, which have been ongoing for years, are causing the production costs of solar energy to continue to fall.

According to a Fraunhofer ISE analysis, the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) per kilowatt hour for large-scale PV systems in Germany in 2024 was in the range of around 4 to 7 €ct, and for large-scale systems with battery storage between around 6 and 11 €ct. Generation in conventional power plants is considerably more expensive (15 to 33 €ct per kilowatt hour). Nuclear energy is even more expensive and not economically competitive at 49 €ct.

Intersolar Europe – Strategists, innovators and doers meet in Munich

Intersolar Europe is much more than a showcase for the solar industry, bringing together leading manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, installers and service providers, project developers, planners and start-ups.

This year's key topics will include hybrid systems, commercial PV systems, modern applications such as agri-, floating or building-integrated PV, and the smart combination of PV, storage, electromobility, heat pumps and energy management. In conjunction with the trade fairs and conferences of The smarter E Europe taking place at the same time, it offers comprehensive, up-to-date insights into and outlooks on the fundamental transformation of the energy world.

Contacts:

Press contacts:

ressourcenmangel an der Panke GmbH | Schlesische Straße 26/c4 |10997 Berlin
Roberto Freiberger | Tel.: +49 163 8430 943
roberto.freiberger@ressourcenmangel.de

Solar Promotion GmbH | PO Box 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim
Peggy Härter-Zilay | Tel.: +49 7231 58598-240
zilay@solarpromotion.com

Source: prnewswire.com

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