Photovoltaic energy in Europe is undergoing a new change.
Just recently, Finland announced a major event in the energy field. On April 1, the Finnish government announced that as the country's two energy companies gradually shut down all coal-fired power plants, Finland will completely stop using coal in energy production this spring.
The Finnish government issued a communiqué saying that this move is a key step in Finland's energy transformation, four years ahead of the statutory deadline. Fossil fuel-based energy production will be replaced by low-carbon, clean, and renewable solutions in the future, and Finland will usher in a more stable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy system.
The Finnish government has made it clear that future electricity production will focus on the development of wind power, nuclear power, hydropower and solar energy, and will be supplemented by electric boilers, heat pumps, energy storage and other technologies to build a new energy system. This strategy is highly consistent with Europe's overall carbon neutrality goal. According to the EU plan, renewable energy must account for 45% of terminal energy consumption in 2030, and photovoltaics are seen as the core tool to achieve this goal. Finland's practice has proved that the coordinated efforts of policy guidance and market mechanisms can greatly accelerate the process of clean energy substitution.
It is understood that Finland's coal withdrawal action stems from the "2029 Coal Ban Act" passed in 2019. Through large-scale investment in wind power, nuclear power and bioenergy, Finland's coal-fired power share has dropped sharply from 8% in 2016 to less than 1% in 2025, while wind power generation has soared to 25%, driving 26 billion euros of green industrial investment. Although Finland's current photovoltaic installed capacity is limited, and the Nordic countries have a relatively low demand for photovoltaics due to the high proportion of hydropower, their energy transformation path reveals the future trend of the European market: the withdrawal of fossil energy will inevitably be accompanied by a diversified layout of renewable energy, and photovoltaics will play a key role in it.
Finland "retires from coal", and the photovoltaic pattern is reshaped
Finland has never stopped investing in renewable energy. Previously, the Finnish government had agreed to provide priority facilities for green transformation projects between 2023 and 2026. In early 2023, the Finnish government also adopted a new hydrogen strategy, setting a goal of producing 1 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030, accounting for one-tenth of the EU's total target of 10 million green hydrogen.
In fact, compared with other European countries, Finland's electricity market appears to be quite "unstable". In the past few years, Finland's energy system has undergone a major transformation. With the construction of the 1.6 GW new Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant in April 2023, Finland's total nuclear power installed capacity has reached 4.37 GW. Renewable energy is also generally on the rise. In 2022, wind power installed capacity increased by 2.43 GW, and the total installed capacity reached 5.67 GW by the end of that year. Since then, the growth momentum has continued, and by the end of 2023, the installed capacity has increased to 6.94 GW.
At the same time, the proportion of photovoltaics in Finland's renewable energy sector is also rising. Finland's sunshine hours are roughly the same as those in Germany and Denmark, and cold weather does not affect solar panels. At present, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power stations in Finland is increasing. According to data from the Finnish National Grid (Fingrid), by 2030, Finland's solar power generation capacity will reach 7 gigawatts (in 2023, Finland's total power generation capacity will be about 20 gigawatts).
Finland's achievement of the coal-retiring target four years ahead of schedule this time confirms the role of radical policies in driving clean energy. Other EU countries such as Germany have planned to phase out coal-fired power by 2030 and significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy. Finland's successful case will encourage more countries to increase their photovoltaic support policies.
The European photovoltaic market has "changed"
Although Finland's "coal withdrawal" has brought positive signals to the European photovoltaic market, the current European photovoltaic market is not doing well.
Data shows that in 2024, the European market installed 65.5GW of photovoltaics, breaking the annual new installation record for the eighth consecutive year, but the slowdown in installation growth in 2024 is very significant. The annual growth rate in 2023 was as high as 53%, while it was only 4% in 2024.
In terms of details, in 2024, the demand for household solar energy system in Europe plummeted by nearly 5GW, and the installed capacity was 12.8GW, which was basically the same as in 2022. There is almost no obvious growth trend in the household market.
At present, only France and Romania have seen significant growth in household photovoltaic installations, but the cumulative installations in these two countries are relatively low, which is not enough to drive the entire European household market.
Compared with the cold household photovoltaic market, European industrial and commercial photovoltaics have ushered in a slight increase. Among the EU member states, nearly 20 countries have seen an increase in industrial and commercial photovoltaic installations. In addition, the proportion of large-scale ground photovoltaic power stations is also increasing.
As we all know, Europe is still the "first market" for my country's photovoltaic module export market. China is the absolute main force in the global photovoltaic module supply, and the European market accounts for more than 30% of its export share. With the imbalance between supply and demand of domestic production capacity, the price of photovoltaic modules in the European market has also plummeted.
According to the photovoltaic index report (PV index) released by the European photovoltaic trading platform Sun.store in January 2025, from January 2024 to January 2025, it can be seen that the price of modules shows a general trend of decreasing volatility.
Among them, it can be seen that the price of P-type monofacial modules dropped significantly at the middle and end of last year. In December last year, the price of P-type monofacial modules dropped by 13% month-on-month, reaching the lowest point of the year.
In fact, since around August, p-type monofacial modules have basically been the cheapest modules per watt in Europe. In January this year, the price of modules began to rise slightly, such as p-type monofacial modules rebounded by 0.005 euros/W, and n-type monofacial/bifacial solar panels also maintained a stable and rising trend.
However, judging from the overall price trend chart, the rebound in January has not completely solved the current dilemma of European component prices, and component manufacturers are still in a "blood loss" state. However, it is precisely against the background of plummeting prices that large-scale ground photovoltaic power stations can promote the growth of European ground photovoltaic installations through price advantages.
According to relevant data, in 2024, China exported 235.93GW of photovoltaic components, an increase of 13% compared with 207.99GW in 2023, but Europe's shipments fell by 7%. Europe's component imports in 2024 were 94.4GW, lower than 101.48GW in 2023. Among them, the Netherlands accounted for 40% of China's component imports, and Spain ranked second with an import volume of 10.57GW, a year-on-year decrease of 10% compared with 11.75GW in 2023.
The essence of the plunge in European photovoltaic component prices is the imbalance between supply and demand. Behind the signal released by Finland's withdrawal from coal is the continued growth of clean energy demand in Europe. It is predicted that the installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants in Europe may rise again in 2025, especially with the increase of some large ground power station projects. With the recovery of demand and the production restrictions of enterprises (the inventory of domestic component manufacturers has dropped below 50GW), the price of components has rebounded by 33% since the second quarter of 2025, and some models have exceeded 0.9 yuan/W.
For Chinese companies, this change is not only a challenge, but also an excellent opportunity for global layout and technological upgrading. Only by jumping out of the "involutionary" price competition, using technology as a spear and cooperation as a shield, can we be invincible in the new cycle of the European and even global photovoltaic market.
