Photovoltaic electricity production breaks a record in the EU, allowing to reduce the import of gas

Between May and August, solar production amounted to 99,4 terawatt hours (TWh), a quarter more than in 2021: at the same period last year, the share of solar in European electricity production reached 9 % (77,7 TWh), according to the specialized energy organization.

According to this report, 18 of the 27 EU countries recorded solar production records this summer, in particular the Netherlands (23% of its electricity mix), Germany (19%), Spain (17% ).

France, on the other hand, is below average with only 7,7% of electricity production coming this summer from solar energy.

The biggest surge in solar since 2018 has been in Poland where photovoltaic production has increased 26 times, followed by Finland and Hungary (five times more solar), notes Ember, who draws this data from Entsoe, the European network of electricity transmission managers.

Without this solar production, the EU would have had to buy 20 billion m3 of additional gas, analysts have calculated, for a bill of 29 billion euros, at the price of gas recorded daily from May to August.

The increase in production from summer 2021 to summer 2022 (22 TWh) alone saved 4 billion m3 of gas over these four months, for more than 6 billion euros.

However, if solar is accelerating, its deployment is still largely insufficient. According to Ember's projections, the continent will be less than half of what it would take to meet the EU's 2030 energy and climate targets for the coming years.