Save 110 million euros daily! The EU solar energy is known as the "money-saving expert"!

（Source: Solar PV Insights）

The EU’s current installed solar capacity has become a core support for easing energy costs and ensuring energy security. In just the first 17 days of March, it offset more than €110 million in daily natural gas import costs on average, directly lowering total import spending for the same period by 32%. Over the whole month of March, the cumulative cost savings reached €3.77 billion. Even more noteworthy is that if natural gas prices continue to rise sharply, solar power in 2026 is expected to save the EU nearly €67 billion; under SolarPower Europe’s mid-term deployment scenario, in the remaining years of this decade solar power will also cumulatively contribute €170 billion in savings. However, to further unlock solar’s potential—to offset more natural gas consumption and ease its drag on electricity prices—the EU must urgently advance battery energy storage and other non-fossil energy flexibility solutions.

Brussels, April 1—SolarPower Europe’s latest study provides further evidence of these results. In the first 17 days after the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, the EU’s average daily savings on natural gas import costs reached €111.7 million. As natural gas prices continue to fluctuate higher, and as solar deployment keeps accelerating, this cost dividend achieved by reducing fossil fuel imports will continue to expand.

Behind these significant savings is solar power’s sustained output. In the first 2.5 weeks after the outbreak of the conflict, the EU’s solar installed capacity generated 19.9 GWh. If that portion of demand were met with gas power generation, it would require an additional €1.9 billion—32% more than the €6.0 billion in fossil fuel import spending estimated for the same period by the European Commission. As of March 31, the cumulative cost savings for the month were set at €3.77 billion, aligning closely with earlier data.

SolarPower Europe further forecasts that if natural gas prices in 2026 exceed the average level in March, the total gains brought by solar power that year could reach €67.5 billion. It is understood that the fossil fuel pricing data used in this study comes from its main market research partner, Rystad Energy.

By the end of 2030, the cumulative cost savings that solar can deliver for the EU are expected to reach €170 billion. However, this figure is based on SolarPower Europe’s mid-term deployment scenario and has not yet reached the EU’s 2030 solar target. If more aggressive strategies are adopted in solar deployment and energy flexibility, this upside could move to the next level.

SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger said bluntly that Europe has faced the second fossil fuel price shock within four years, but the urgency felt in 2022 has long been replaced by complacency. “Although energy dependence has led to massive costs, EU solar deployment in 2024 and 2025 has fallen into a standstill,” she said. “This new data is a reminder that solar is already playing a critical role for Europe today, and will bring even greater value to Europe’s security and economy in the future.”

Additional use of fossil fuels not only increases unit costs, but also extends the time that high-price fossil fuels dominate electricity pricing. Under the marginal pricing mechanism, at any given moment, all electricity in the market—including electricity generated from renewables—will be priced toward the most expensive energy source on the grid.

On this issue, Dries Acke, SolarPower Europe’s deputy CEO, emphasized that accelerating non-fossil energy flexibility solutions such as battery storage, demand response, and flexible grids should be the EU policymakers’ top priority. “We can’t just focus on temporary relief measures—we also need to roll out an emergency action plan and speed up the implementation of structural solutions,” he said. Battery storage is the fastest and most effective way to prevent high-priced natural gas from dominating electricity prices, and it can also, in turn, reduce the costs of electrification and flexibility for European industry and households.

The full research report released by SolarPower Europe, “Solar and Storage in EU Energy Security,” also includes two real case studies exploring the impact of the current crisis on two solar application companies, and it analyzes the deeper and more far-reaching benefits that may result from shifting to its high-scenario solar deployment plan, in 2026 and beyond.

The core assumption of this analysis is that all additional solar photovoltaic generation in Europe replaces gas-fired power generation, because natural gas is currently the highest marginal cost electricity source. Among them, natural gas price data comes from observed values of the Dutch TTF natural gas trading hub at the beginning of 2026, as well as forward-looking estimates provided by Rystad Energy (including a long-term disruption scenario for the Strait of Hormuz). The 2026 solar generation figures are derived by multiplying Ember’s 2025 data by the annual growth rate of cumulative installed capacity from 2025 to 2026. EU additional fossil fuel import data comes from a public speech by Chairman von der Leyen.

The ranking of solar installed capacity per capita in the EU in 2025 (W/person) is as follows: the Netherlands 1582 W/person, Germany 1405 W/person, Estonia 1335 W/person, Greece 1223 W/person, Austria 1177 W/person, Spain 1155 W/person, Denmark 1146 W/person, Hungary 1084 W/person, Luxembourg 1077 W/person, Belgium 1031 W/person.

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