Hear some special 40th Birthday messages:
Solar’s journey over the past 40 years:
Solar growth has soared! 40 years ago, the world had less than 50 MW solar capacity installed, with the technology still at the experimental and niche application stages, and only a few pioneering research labs doing pilots and testing. Today this capacity has grown over 40,000 times to more than 2 TW installed globally and about 350 GW installed in the EU alone!
In 40 years, we have installed enough solar to power 75 million EU households!
The price of solar has dropped exponentially – solar panel prices are over 99% lower today than they were 40 years ago. This makes solar the most affordable, fastest growing energy technology.
Some landmark moments for solar:
1985: SolarPower Europe (under the name European Photovoltaic Industry Association) emerged to represent the solar sector in Europe.
1991: Germany launches the first green electricity feed-in tariff scheme in the world, ensuring grid companies connect all renewable power plants.
Mid-2000s: First wave of solar takes off in the EU as countries start to introduce feed-in tariffs.
2005: Launch of the EU Emission Trading System, introducing the polluter-pays principle.
2009: Clean and Renewable Energy (CARE) package from the European Commission paved the way for the growth of solar power so that in 5 years it becomes a dominant feature of global markets.
2010: Under the Energy 2020 strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy, the EU aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, increase the share of renewable energy to at least 20% of consumption and achieve energy savings of 20% or more by 2020.
2015: Paris Climate Agreement: the first legally binding international treaty on climate change.
2019: EU Green Deal: A plan, including a Climate Law, putting the EU on path to reach net-zero by 2050.
2021: Fit for 55 Package: a plan by the European Union to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
2022: REPower EU and EU Solar Strategy set a trajectory towards 750 GW solar installed in the EU by 2030.
2023: The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) sets an EU Solar Standard for solar on all new buildings.
2024: Net Zero Industry Act adopted to boost manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies.
2025: SolarPower Europe celebrates 25 years of leading the energy transition. The new EU agenda puts solar and renewables at the core of a competitive and secure Europe.
Members of SolarPower Europe:
320
in 2025
Number of flagship events:
5
annually
Total awards received:
11
and counting!
Take a look back at some shining event moments:
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