THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR GENERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU “GREEN DEAL”

Abstract

The article analysis the role of solar energy in achieving the EU’s strategic targets. Against the backdrop of the global task of tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency, disparities in the share of renewables between countries are revealed, which stimulates the search for new growth sources, including photovoltaics even in northern regions.

The aim of this work is to assess the projected potential for electricity production from PV in the EU as a whole and in Lithuania in particular, taking into account technological progress, decreasing system costs, the spread of energy communities, support for producers and consumers, as well as the deployment of corresponding storage systems.

The proposed methodology combines a review of information sources with scenario modeling of solar energy development (baseline, accelerated, and restrictive scenarios) and sensitivity analysis of key drivers: insolation, the dynamics of storage capacity growth, and the use of regulatory incentives.

The expected results show that, provided support programs are expanded, energy communities are developed, and storage systems are deployed together with photovoltaic systems, solar energy could make a substantial contribution to achieving the target of 45% renewables in total final energy consumption.

The practical value of this research lies in providing a reproducible framework scenario for Northern European countries and specific recommendations for Lithuania.