Solar power strengthened its position in the European Union’s electricity mix during the second quarter of 2026, even as the overall renewable share remained broadly unchanged from a year earlier.
Renewable sources supplied 54.1% of EU electricity generation in the quarter, compared with 54.3% in the same period of 2025.
Solar accounted for 41.6% of renewable electricity, up from 37% a year earlier. Wind supplied 27.7%, hydropower 22.6% and combustible renewable fuels 7.7%, while geothermal and other technologies contributed the remaining 0.4%.
The figures show that new solar capacity is changing the composition of renewable generation faster than the overall share of clean electricity is increasing. That shift is also widening the operational difference between solar-heavy daytime periods and evening hours, increasing the need for storage, demand response and stronger cross-border networks.
Renewable penetration varied sharply across the bloc. Latvia recorded the highest share at 97.7%, followed by Denmark at 94.3% and Croatia at 92.2%. Hydropower supported the high shares in Latvia and Croatia, while wind remained dominant in Denmark.
At the other end of the market, renewables accounted for 19.8% of Slovak electricity generation, 20.9% in Czechia and 24.5% in Malta.
The EU is therefore producing more than half its electricity from renewable sources, but the latest figures point to a changing challenge. The priority is moving from installing capacity alone to managing increasingly concentrated solar output without deepening midday price declines and evening price spikes.
