Solar is now the lowest-cost power
Solar is revolutionizing global power markets. The past ten years have seen the average cost of solar plunge by 90%, and it is now the cheapest source of electricity globally. In 2019, almost 50% of global added generation capacity came from solar.
Despite Covid-19, the world added a record 132 GW of solar capacity in 2020. In the years to come, solar is expected to cement its cost advantage and further increase its share of deployment.
Solar is a deep-green EU growth market
Solar’s growth builds on society’s intensifying ambition to mitigate climate change. The EU Renewable Energy Directive sets a binding EU-wide 32% renewables target for 2030. This year’s EU Taxonomy is likely to strongly endorse solar power. An estimated 200 GW (ca € 100 bn) of solar will be built in the EU until 2030 to replace fossil fuel power generation and enable further industry and transportation electrification.
Subsidy-free solar is growing rapidly
Driven by cost concerns and a focus on fossil-free energy, large Commercial & Industrial (C&I) power users increasingly drive the EU solar market as they seek long term solar power contracts. The growth potential of this subsidy-free market is vast.
Companies consume 70% of all power in society, with an annual bill of € 150 bn in Europe – solar power coupled with battery storage could ultimately replace at least half of that.
Solar corporate PPAs create a mature, high potential opportunity
European C&I power users are using Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to procure solar power at an unprecedented level, mirroring what happened in the more mature US market. The European solar market is at an exceptional point of this distributed and subsidy-free development – benefiting fully from the global maturity of the asset class, yet with virtually all buildout still remaining.
For more information about how Alight can help your company switch to solar, please contact:
Pascal Olin, Head of international business, +46 76 820 52 65
