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Europe’s solar generation hit new heights during June heatwave

Sunny summer conditions delivered record photovoltaic (PV) production across much of western Europe in June 2025, as high pressure systems brought sustained clear skies and above-average irradiance. For the first time, solar became the leading energy source for Europe for the month, despite some regions in the north and east, including Scandinavia and the Baltic States, experiencing suppressed solar performance due to persistent frontal systems. Analysis using the Solcast API, showed that from Scotland to Turkey, significant swathes of the continent saw much more irradiance than normal for the month.

Across southern and western Europe, a dominant high-pressure pattern, coupled with dry air masses, enabled June irradiance to rise significantly above climatological norms.

Solcast data show increases of up to 30% in Greece and 10% to 20% across western Europe and Turkey. These sunny conditions, combined with growing solar capacity, pushed solar to the top of Europe’s power mix for the first time.

Analysis of Solcast grid models for Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium showed all six regions had above-average solar (adjusted for increased capacity). June 2025 ranked among the top three Junes in the past 12 years, and Italy recorded its highest June solar availability in that period, contributing to the record solar generation across the continent.

The strong irradiance was associated with several heatwave events across Europe. England recorded its hottest June since national records began, and Spain experienced a record peak temperature of 46 degrees Celsius. While clear skies benefited solar output, heat extremes had a marginal negative effect. Panel efficiency declines with rising temperatures, and in parts of southern Spain, where temperatures were up to 5 degrees above average, asset operators could expect PV output reductions of around 2% due to thermal losses.

The exceptional month for solar in the south and west did not extend across the entire continent. Scandinavia and the Baltic States experienced below-average irradiance due to frequent frontal activity. Daily irradiance in these regions dropped by approximately 10% in Scandinavia and up to 15% in the Baltics, reaching around 5 kWh/m2 compared to the long-term June average of 5.5 to 6 kWh/m2 . Despite these regional deficits, the relatively smaller contribution of northern regions to total European solar generation meant that this did not significantly impact the Europe wide record.

Solcast produces these figures by tracking clouds and aerosols at 1-2km resolution globally, using satellite data and proprietary AI/ML algorithms. This data is used to drive irradiance models, enabling Solcast to calculate irradiance at high resolution, with typical bias of less than 2%, and also cloud-tracking forecasts. This data is used by more than 350 companies managing over 300 GW of solar assets globally.