Video message by President von der Leyen opening the European Solar+ Summit

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the invitation to address this Solar+ summit. The growth of the sector over the last decade is truly remarkable. In 2016, just 4 gigawatts of solar panels were installed across the European Union. Last year it was over 65 gigawatts - a sixteen-fold increase. Last June, solar became the largest electricity source in the EU for the first time ever. That is a milestone we should celebrate. It shows what is possible when innovation, investment, and political will come together. 

This progress is delivering benefits beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, EU solar has saved 110 million Euros every single day in avoided gas imports. It proves what we already knew – homegrown clean energy is vital to our strategic independence. We know that as long as we depend on imported fossil fuels, we remain vulnerable. Solar, together with batteries, are workhorse technologies that can deliver homegrown clean energy at scale. But we need to move faster. If we want true independence, we must accelerate electrification. And this is why in summer, we will present the Electrification Action Plan, with clear targets to reduce our exposure to fossil fuel shocks. 

The theme of today's summit, Solar+, is exactly right. It is not just about generating more solar power, but building the system that allows it to deliver its full value. Today, at times, we produce six times more renewable energy than the grid can absorb. So, infrastructure must keep pace with generation. We need stronger and smarter grids, more storage, and greater flexibility. With our battery booster package, we are investing 1.5 billion Euros in European battery production. And through our Grids Package and new energy highways, we are tackling bottlenecks and accelerating cross-border interconnections. We are working with you, to build a system that can deliver clean power when and where it is needed. 

Clean homegrown power and electrification are the path to independence. But these technologies must be developed and manufactured in Europe. The good news is that we see strong innovation across the solar sector - from next-generation inverters in Spain that optimise energy flows, to new facilities in Germany developing high-efficiency perovskite cells. Europe has the talent, the research base, and the industrial capacity to lead. But we know your industry faces intense, and sometimes unfair, global competition. That is why we introduced the Industrial Accelerator Act - to simplify rules, speed up permitting, and introduce “Made in EU” and low-carbon criteria in public procurement. And we are establishing new conditions on foreign investments, to make sure they bring real value and quality jobs to Europe.

 Ladies and gentlemen,

The past decade has been remarkable for solar. Now we must build on this momentum together - to deliver clean, affordable energy at scale, and continue to show it can be built here in Europe. That is how we make the next decade even more remarkable. 

Thank you and I wish you a productive summit.