On 29 September European solar stakeholders got together to celebrate the fact that, in just under 10 years, solar has gone from 3GW to over 100GW of installed capacity in Europe. SolarPower Europe said in a statement that the industry’s attention is now firmly turned to the next 100GW.

More than 300 people participated in the event to celebrate the achievement, and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič led the proceedings with a speech outlining how he wants to see over 150GWs of solar in Europe by 2020.

“The record of solar energy installations, which we are celebrating today, gives our industries a major advantage on the global market.… It also means we, in Europe, are heading closer to an economy, where energy will be abundant, safe, clean, and above all much cheaper! … But for this to happen we will need much more than 100GW. That is where we must not let this accomplishment turn us complacent. The business as usual scenario shows we can reach 150GW by the end of the decade, in just over three years. If 50% growth is easy then that is not good enough. We must do more,” he said.

The participants also heard from Vincent Schellings, Product Line Leader from GE Power Conversion, who outlined the crucial role that the digitalisation of energy would play in the transformation of energy. He was joined by Huawei Solar Europe General Manager GuoGuong Chen, who focused on the role of innovation and the important role that Europe plays, and will play, in bringing forward the next technological breakthroughs to utilise more solar.