Solar and wind generated 30 percent of the European Union's electricity last year, according to the think tank Ember, underscoring how quickly renewables have moved from the margins to the mainstream of the bloc's power mix. But that success brings a new kind of problem. The question facing the industry is no longer how much green electricity can be produced, but how to make it available at the moments the grid actually needs it.
Intersolar Forum 2026: integration and sector coupling in focus
Hybrid PV systems, which pair solar generation with battery storage behind a single grid connection, are emerging as one answer. At midday and through the summer months, solar output can overwhelm local grids, forcing curtailment and pushing wholesale prices below zero, while the same electricity becomes scarce again by evening when demand rises. Storage offers a way to smooth that mismatch, easing pressure on grids and shielding operators from the costly business of switching plants off.
The topic will sit at the centre of this year's Intersolar Europe, the solar industry's largest trade show, running from 23 to 25 June at Messe München as part of The Smarter E Europe, alongside parallel exhibitions on storage, charging infrastructure and energy management. Sessions at the Intersolar Europe Conference and Forum will examine how grid operators, developers and flexibility providers can work together on integrated projects, drawing on examples including the UK's Cleve Hill scheme, which combines a 373 MW solar farm with a 150 MW battery system, and Germany's Gundelsheim energy park, which adds wind to the solar-storage mix.
The case for moving faster
A recent SolarPower Europe study, Solar+: An EU Pathway to Achieve Renewable Targets, Price Affordability, and Energy Security, argues that storage capacity needs to roughly quadruple to 171 GW by 2030, with average storage duration rising to three and a half hours. Doing so, the association estimates, could halve the energy system's operating costs by the end of the decade and meaningfully dampen the price volatility that businesses and households currently face.
Quadrupling EU storage by 2030 – the ees Europe agenda
There is also a geopolitical dimension. The EU still drew 29 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2025, leaving it exposed to swings in gas and oil markets driven by conflicts beyond its borders. SolarPower Europe points to 8.5 billion euros in gas-import savings achieved through solar generation in just the first two months since fighting began in the Middle East, and projects annual savings could exceed 50 billion euros by 2030, provided policy keeps pace with the technology. (TF)
