Europe isn’t having the best summer, with scorching heatwaves ravaging the continent. But there’s some good news in all of this. Almost silently, the sun became the European Union’s largest source of energy.
In June, solar power surpassed every other energy source, including nuclear and fossil fuels, and the trend is only accelerating.
Shine like the sun
Solar panels across the EU produced more electricity than any other source, generating 22.1% of the bloc’s power, just edging out nuclear at 21.8%. That’s 45.4 terawatt-hours of clean electricity from sunlight alone.
Part of that was indeed owed to a stretch of unusually sunny and hot weather. But it’s not just the sun: it’s the years of accelerating solar panel installations. At least thirteen EU countries set new solar records, according to the report from Ember, an independent, data-based, global energy think tank. Rooftops, farmland, brownfields, and massive solar parks have been transformed into electricity-generating landscapes. From 2020 to 2024, EU countries collectively added over 200 gigawatts of solar capacity.
What’s even more encouraging isn’t just that solar took the lead. It’s that it did so at the expense of coal, which fell to just 6.1% of EU electricity generation in June. In Poland and Germany, historically reliant on coal, production dropped to all-time lows. Even Spain, once a heavy coal user, is now nearing total phase-out. Meanwhile, wind power also set new May and June records, rebounding after a sluggish winter. Together, wind and solar accounted for nearly 38% of EU electricity in June.
But there’s a wrinkle: despite the boom in solar and wind, fossil fuel use crept up earlier in 2025 due to weak hydro output and rising energy demand. Droughts lowered water levels in reservoirs, slashing hydro’s contribution by 15% in the first half of the year. Natural gas picked up the slack. In fact, although coal is going down, there’s little sign of natural gas decreasing.
Plenty of room to grow
Still, the work isn’t done. This is just for electricity, not for driving or other uses of energy. Plus, even for electricity, fossil fuels still often fill in the gaps at sunrise and sunset. The next big leap will come from battery storage and smart grids — technologies that stretch solar’s impact beyond the daylight hours, says Chris Rosslowe, Senior Energy Analyst.
“Europe is becoming a solar powerhouse. European nations are harnessing the abundant resources of sunshine and wind like never before. The growth of low-cost renewables is gradually getting Europe’s energy system off the rollercoaster of fossil energy prices.
The big opportunity now comes from adding battery storage and flexibility to extend the use of renewable power into mornings and evenings, where fossil fuels still set high power prices.”
Electricity demand as a whole continues to rise, both in Europe and elsewhere. This means we need to keep adding more renewables (and battery storage) just to keep up, and then ramp it even more to keep taking out fossil fuels.
But this is a remarkable achievement.
For two centuries, fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas have been the backbone of Europe. This is the first time in history that sunlight, something we don’t import, can’t run out of, and doesn’t pollute, became Europe’s main source of electricity. This doesn’t just add to the continent’s sustainability targets, but improves energy security and reduces geopolitical risk, with less reliance on imported gas from places like Russia.
Globally, it signals to other regions that the transition to renewables isn’t a pipe dream. It’s happening and it’s making energy more affordable and secure, even under the pressure of extreme weather.
You can read the report in its entirety here.
