European Commission reviews NECP! PV annual capacity expected to reach 75GW!

The NECP is the EU governments' plan to decarbonize their national energy mix by 2030, first implemented in 2019. This year, the European Commission is offering national governments the opportunity to update their NECP to align national climate plans with the new clean energy targets, which will be written into law next June .

In recent weeks, the EU has taken a number of steps to drive the energy transition. The European Commission and the European Parliament agreed on a new fixed-price structure for renewable energy projects to make clean energy investments more economically attractive.

The EC noted that Lithuania and Estonia are expected to rely on renewable energy to meet 100% of their energy needs by 2030, while Denmark's renewable energy capacity is expected to exceed total energy demand.

Germany and France submitted revised plans with current targets of 60GW and 215GW, respectively, ranking among the countries with the highest solar electric capacity on the continent.

The EC also drew countries' attention to the EU Solar Strategy. The strategy, which is part of the REPowerEU program to be implemented in 2022, aims to encourage significant new installed PV capacity in European countries. This program aims to achieve 320GW of new solar PV electricity capacity by 2025 and nearly 600GW by the end of this decade by streamlining the permitting process for new solar projects.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said: "The NECP is a key tool to set a clear path towards a clean, resilient and digitized energy system. Our economy is waiting for clear investment signals, and our citizens are waiting for strategies on how to keep energy prices affordable in the long term."

Solar Power Europe reports that European developers are on track to install a record 56GW of new capacity this year, showing significant growth from 39.1GW in 2022.

Solar Power Europe expects Europe to add more than 75GW of new solar capacity in 2026 alone.