The solar PV and battery storage sectors supported 982,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the European Union in 2025, according to SolarPower Europe’s new EU Solar Jobs Report 2026. Solar accounted for 874,000 jobs, while battery energy storage systems (BESS) – included in the association’s study for the first time – accounted for another 108,000.

Employment was driven by deployment growth. The EU added 69 GW of solar capacity in 2025, while battery installations reached 27 GWh. Of all solar and storage jobs, 44% were direct positions and 56% were indirect jobs linked to supply chains and related activities.

Solar employment rose 1% year on year to 874,000 FTEs. Installation and deployment accounted for 742,000 jobs, or 85% of the total. Operations and maintenance reached a record 78,000 jobs, while manufacturing accounted for around 37,000, or just 4% of solar employment, with inverter production representing 90% of manufacturing jobs.

Germany was the EU’s largest solar employment market, with approximately 165,000 FTEs, followed closely by Spain. Italy ranked third, with around 85,000 jobs. Together, the three countries accounted for nearly half of EU solar employment.

The report also points to a shift in market structure. For the first time since the report series began in 2021, utility-scale PV slightly overtook rooftop solar in employment, accounting for 50.2% of jobs.

A similar shift toward larger projects occurred in storage. Utility-scale systems accounted for more than half of new battery capacity installed in 2025 and generated nearly half of deployment-related jobs.

SolarPower Europe expects EU solar employment to fall to 766,000 FTEs by 2030, from 874,000 in 2025.

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