This year, European power generation will increase from 2687TWh in 2023 to 2740TWh. Solar will lead this growth, followed by wind (38TWh), nuclear (20TWh) and hydropower (6TWh).

In contrast, fossil fuel power generation will continue to decline, but at a much slower rate than in 2023. During the same period, total European electricity demand increased slightly, and fossil fuel power generation will decrease by 60TWh.

Rystad Energy said it expects solar to continue to lead growth in installed capacity and generation, and coupled with more stable output from nuclear power, demand for fossil fuel electricity will fall further.

"European electricity demand is growing only slightly, so we can conclude that Europe's electricity demand growth is entirely met by renewable energy sources." Vegard Wiik Vollset, Head of Renewables and EMEA Power Research at Rystad Energy "This suggests that the growth in renewable energy is sufficient to meet the growth in demand, which is why we are seeing a decline in fossil fuel use," he said.

The growth of photovoltaic power generation will be mainly driven by Germany, which has an installed photovoltaic capacity of 14GWdc. The German Solar Energy Industry Association said that Germany's photovoltaic installed capacity increased by about 85% year-on-year last year, and German developers added about 7.5GW of new photovoltaic installed capacity in 2022.

About half (7GW) of the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in 2023 will come from the household market, a year-on-year increase of 135%. Ground photovoltaics accounted for 31% of the newly installed photovoltaic capacity (approximately 4.3GW), a year-on-year increase of 40%. Developers also added approximately 2.5GW of commercial rooftop photovoltaic capacity, a year-on-year increase of 75%.

Last year, Germany's role changed from a major electricity exporter to a net importer due to the closure of nuclear power plants, reduced photovoltaic power generation, cheap electricity from other markets and reduced coal generation.Trina solar panels