Power systems across Central Europe – hardly known for its sunny skies – are emerging as surprise leaders in global energy transition efforts through canny use of solar parks and locally-made battery energy storage systems.

Several major Central European economies – including Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland – have sharply boosted the share of utility electricity production from solar farms since 2022 as part of efforts to boost home-grown energy supplies.

That rapid swell in solar generation has allowed for steep cuts to the share of generation from fossil fuel plants, which have fallen to record lows across the region so far in 2025.

Surging solar power output is also being amplified by widespread deployment of grid-scale battery systems, many of which are being manufactured in the area and the use of which is being spurred on by policies aimed at supporting local jobs.

The share of solar power in utility electricity generation has surged across Central Europe since 2022, allowing for lower fossil fuel use

In combination, ramped up solar and battery use is helping Central Europe defy expectations that the region would remain tied to legacy fossil fuel generation systems, and instead emerge as a leader in regional energy transition efforts.

STAR POWER
Austria and Hungary stand out among Central European nations as key drivers of the regional boom in solar output and lower fossil fuel reliance.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both economies were expected to remain heavily dependent on Russian energy exports due to the lack of import options from other suppliers.

But Austria – which previously relied on Russia for around 90% of its gas supplies – has managed to drastically reduce direct Russian imports since 2022, and so far in 2025 has fulfilled most of its gas needs from Slovakia.

And while Hungary has remained a steady buyer of Russian oil and gas even as the European Union cut Russian imports, Hungary’s electricity system has cut its gas reliance from over 25% prior to 2022 to below 20%, while ramping solar output.

Indeed, both Austria and Hungary now generate more utility electricity supplies from solar farms than from fossil fuels, which marks a drastic turnaround from just two years ago when fossil fuels were the much larger electricity source.

So far in 2025, Austria generated around 17% of electricity supplies from solar farms, and 10% from fossil fuel plants, according to data from energy think tank Ember.

That compares to a 6% solar share and a roughly 19% fossil fuel share in 2022.

In Hungary, around 33% of electricity supplies in 2025 have come from solar farms, and around 22% from fossil fuel plants. That compares to a roughly 14% solar share and 35% fossil fuel share in 2022.

WIDER TREND
Romania, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have also sharply boosted solar generation while reducing fossil fuel use in recent years.

And while fossil fuels retain the larger electricity generation share in those countries, solar generation is rising much faster than fossil generation and looks set to overtake fossil fuel output in the coming years.

The regional solar surge is being driven by an outsized climb in solar capacity installations since 2019.

Cumulative solar generation capacity in Austria, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland has surged by 460% since 2019 from around 8 gigawatts (GW) to more than 45 GW in 2024, Ember data shows.

That growth pace compares to a 145% climb in Europe’s total solar generation capacity over the same period, and indicates that Central Europe’s solar footprint has been growing roughly three times faster the broader European average.

CHARGING UP
A key amplifier of Central Europe’s solar uptake has been the steep growth in the production and use of battery energy storage systems (BESS).

Between 2022 and 2025 there has been a 472% rise in battery energy storage capacity within Austria, Hungary and Romania alone, according to local utility filings.

The BESS capacity climb has been similar across Central Europe more broadly, and is expected to accelerate over the rest of the decade following large Europe-wide investments in electricity grid upgrades.
Key Central Europe economies are projected to sharply increase BESS energy capacity by 2030 as part of widespread grid upgrades
Thomson ReutersCentral Europe battery energy storage system capacity (BESS) estimates

Indeed, project filings from across the region suggest that the energy capacity of BESS installations across Central Europe could jump more than tenfold by 2030 as every major power grid expands both solar and storage capacity.

Such increases in the footprint of clean energy supplies look set to allow power firms to make further cuts to fossil fuel use in electricity production, and maintain Central Europe’s momentum as a major global energy transition driver.
Source: Reuters