The Iranian war has re-energized European demand for rooftop solar panels to reduce energy bills

Since the beginning of the Iran War, the demand for rooftop solar systems has risen across Europe as consumers rush to protect themselves from the soaring energy prices caused by the worst global disruption in energy history.

The conflict has caused oil, gas, and electricity prices to rise sharply, affecting both companies and consumers. This has increased efforts to reduce exposure?to volatile markets and find cheaper alternatives.

Solar power is one of those options. According to interviews conducted with over half a dozen energy suppliers and renewable utilities from Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands, the demand for solar equipment has more than doubled since the end of February.

This is a welcome boost for a technology which accounts for nearly a third (33%) of Europe's power capacity. However, the pace of installation of new systems slowed last year for the very first time in almost a decade. Advocates of the industry argue that Europe needs to do more to reduce its dependence on imported oil.

The war has only exposed a problem that was there all along, namely energy dependence, said Janik Nolden. He is the co-founder and owner of German solar equipment wholesaler Solarhandel24.

This is about European resilience

Solarhandel24 reported that net sales in March were nearly 70 million euro ($82 million), up from a year ago. They are expected to triple this month, to 60 million euro. To meet demand, the company will increase its workforce by 85 people (roughly a third).

Solarhandel24, in order to ensure?supply?, has recently stocked around a half-million solar panels. Nolden says that this was a costly move, but he believes it to be worthwhile, given the potential of net sales rising to 400 million euros by 2026, from around?250 millions euros last year.

Enpal, a German company, is also seeing similar trends. The energy company said that orders increased 30% on an annual basis in March, to 130 million Euros, and April is expected to see a 33% rise to 120 million Euros, driven by rooftop solar installations.

Mario Kohle, CEO and founder of Enpal, said: "This is all about European resilience." We are also seeing this trend in defence. "Just as Europe needs to be able defend itself, so too must we be able supply our own energy."

Solarhandel24 and Enpal's financial figures have never been reported before.

Although aggregated data on installations in Europe is not yet available for the industry associations of Germany and The Netherlands, they have confirmed an increase in demand in the two countries since the start of the war.

Executives report that homeowners are opting to purchase full systems, which combine solar panels (nearly 90% are from China) with batteries and electric vehicle wallboxes. This allows excess power to be stored for later use.

Holland Solar's Wijnand Van Hooff claims that the demand for energy storage technologies is increasing by 40% to 50%.

"This cannot be explained solely by seasonal factors," said Filip Thon, of E.ON Europe's largest network operator that also sells solar rooftop systems. He said that customer requests have almost doubled from year to year.

A STRUCTURAL CHANGE?

Some executives point to upcoming changes in Germany's renewable-energy law as a further driver of demand for roof installations. These typically cost between 10,000 euros and 20,000 euro for a typical?family house.

According to SolarPower Europe, the industry lobby, the pace of new European installations of solar power slowed down in 2025. The weak demand for residential solar energy was a major factor after the end of subsidy schemes.

SMA Solar shares, which are the third largest solar inverter manufacturer in the world and one of a few remaining European equipment manufacturers, have increased by about 50% since World War II began. Demand has also increased, according to the company.

Ed Janvrin is the head of the solar and heating division at Britain's OVO energy. He said that April sales were approximately 10 times higher than they had been a year ago.

Chinese solar manufacturers, however, claim that any increase in global demand due to war is unlikely to significantly reduce the overcapacity of this sector. China alone has enough manufacturing capacity for nearly two times as much global demand as expected.

The surge in demand for renewable energy shows how geopolitical events can quickly change the value of renewables. Jannik Schall is the co-founder and CEO of German renewables company 1Komma5Grad. He noted that the solar demand during 2022's energy crisis was even higher.

The renewables sector is right.

(source: Reuters)