The Solar Revolution in Central Europe: A 2025 Milestone
2025 has been a historic turning point for European energy. In June, solar became the EU’s primary source of electricity for the first time ever, supplying 22% of the total power mix. Leading this charge were nations once considered coal-dependent laggards; Hungary saw solar provide 42% of its electricity during the summer peak, while Poland’s renewable output officially surpassed coal generation for the first time this June.
This "solar surge" is driven by a sixfold increase in generation across the Visegrád region (Poland, Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia) since 2019. Poland now supports over 1.5 million "prosumers"—households generating their own clean power. Simultaneously, Czechia revolutionized land use in 2025 by legalizing "agri-PV," a framework allowing farmers to harvest both crops and solar energy on the same plot of land.
The transition is now a matter of national security rather than just sustainability. The push to decouple from Russian gas reached a climax in February 2025, when the Baltic States successfully synchronized their power grids with Continental Europe. By permanently disconnecting from the Russian-controlled system, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have finally achieved full energy independence.
However, such rapid growth has exposed aging grid infrastructure. In late 2025, operators were frequently forced to "curtail" (switch off) solar farms because the system couldn't handle the massive influx of power. This has led to negative electricity prices and a frantic shift in investment toward massive battery storage systems, with Poland now leading one of the largest storage pipelines in the EU.
As we reach the EU’s 2025 goal of 400 GW of installed solar, the narrative is shifting from "more panels" to "more flexibility." For Central Europe to maintain its momentum, the priority for 2026 must be upgrading the grid's backbone. The true measure of success is no longer how much energy we produce, but how effectively we can store and share it across borders.