PVTIME – SolarPower Europe’s 2026 EU Solar Jobs Report provides valuable insights into the labour market for the European Union’s solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage sectors. Notably, this is the first time that battery storage has been included in the analysis.
In 2025, the total number of full-time equivalent roles across PV and battery energy storage reached 982,000. The PV sector accounted for 874,000 positions, while the battery energy storage sector delivered 108,000 jobs. Job creation was driven by capacity expansion, with the EU adding 69GW of new solar capacity and 27GWh of battery storage capacity during the year. Direct roles accounted for 44% of total employment across both industries, while indirect roles linked to supply chains and supporting activities accounted for the remaining 56%.
Full-time equivalent employment in the PV sector rose 1% year-on-year to 874,000. Deployment-focused roles dominated the sector, accounting for 85% of all PV-related jobs. Operations and maintenance roles reached an all-time high of 78,000. Domestic PV manufacturing accounted for around 37,000 full-time equivalent positions, representing 4% of the PV workforce. Notably, 90% of these manufacturing roles were in inverter production.
Germany has the largest solar labour market in the EU, with 165,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Spain follows in second place and Italy ranks third, with 85,000 roles. Together, these three countries account for almost half of all jobs in the EU’s PV sector.
The report notes a structural shift in employment patterns across the sector. For the first time since the report series launched in 2021, utility-scale solar projects generated a marginally higher share of solar-related jobs than rooftop installations, standing at 50.2%. A comparable shift is also evident within battery energy storage.
SolarPower Europe forecasts that the total number of full-time equivalent jobs in the PV sector will fall from 874,000 in 2025 to 766,000 by 2030. This decline is expected to be concentrated within deployment activities, where stable annual installation volumes and improved labour productivity are set to reduce headcount by 22%.
Other segments of the PV value chain are set to grow. Cumulative EU solar capacity is expected to rise from 411GW in 2025 to 739GW by 2030, increasing operations and maintenance roles from 78,000 to 109,000. The realisation of announced domestic industrial projects could increase manufacturing jobs to 49,000, while decommissioning and recycling roles are expected to grow from 16,000 to 30,000.
The association has set out its key policy recommendations for EU member states for 2026. It advises governments to incorporate solar-focused skills training into industrial and labour policies, increase small and medium enterprises’ access to training funding, and update training frameworks to include digital and technical skill sets. Full implementation of installer and training obligations under the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) is also urged.
SolarPower Europe also calls for strengthened cross-border coordination of national training initiatives. The association advocates coordinated skills development covering solar, battery storage, grid infrastructure, and heat pumps, as well as improved careers guidance and clearer transition routes for workers entering clean-energy industries.
