European countries connected around 8 GW of solar power systems to electrical networks in 2015, up 15% year-on-year from 6.95 GW of new grid-connected solar power capacity in 2014, according to initial estimates by SolarPower Europe, the association of the solar power sector in Europe. In global terms, grid-connected solar rose by over 25% year-on-year to more than 50 GW in 2015, up from 40.1 GW in 2014.

Commenting on these initial estimates, SolarPower Europe CEO James Watson said that it was good to see the European solar power sector again on the growth path in 2015. He noted that, after peaking in 2011, demand for solar power installations in Europe declined for 3 consecutive years. However, he went on to say that the solar growth in Europe in 2015 was primarily based on strong growth in the UK market, while demand for solar systems in most other countries stayed flat or declined.

"Solar needs clear signals from policy-makers in Europe to be able to contribute to achieving the climate goals agreed in Paris. With solar being competitive for residential and commercial applications in most European countries today, investors need a secure political framework for generation, self-consumption and storage of solar energy," Watson said.

SolarPower Europe will present its final numbers for 2015 in a new report in March and estimates for 2016, including market forecasts until 2020, will be published in SolarPower Europe's 'Global Market Outlook For Solar Power 2016 - 2020,' which will be launched at Intersolar Europe in June.
 

For more information:
http://www.solarpowereurope.org/media/press-releases/