Renewables provided 54.1% of EU electricity generation in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 54.3% in the same period of 2025. Solar power strengthened its position within the EU electricity mix during the quarter. The overall renewable share was broadly unchanged year on year.
Solar’s growing role within renewable generation
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%. Geothermal and other technologies contributed the remaining 0.4%.
The data indicate that new solar capacity is shifting the composition of renewable generation faster than the overall clean electricity share is rising. The change is widening the operational gap between solar-heavy daytime output and evening hours. This increases the need for storage, demand response and stronger cross-border networks.
Diverging renewable penetration across EU member states
Renewable penetration varied sharply across the bloc in the quarter. 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 lower end, renewables accounted for 19.8% of Slovak electricity generation and 20.9% in Czechia. Malta recorded a higher level at 24.5%.
Managing solar concentration in power markets
The latest figures show the EU producing more than half its electricity from renewable sources while solar output becomes increasingly concentrated by time of day. The priority highlighted by the data is moving from installing capacity alone to managing that concentrated solar output. This is aimed at avoiding deeper midday price declines and evening price spikes.
