23.5 MW New Solar In Norway In 2018

• Norway's solar PV additions in 2018 increased 29% YoY with 23.5 MW installed capacity, according to Solenergiklyngen
• Continuous fall in solar prices, increase in electricity prices helped adoption of solar in the Northern -European country, pushed forward by word-of-mouth publicity of satisfied consumers
• Grid connected solar power plants make the bulk of the total market volume
• Most 2018 installations were carried out by small and medium enterprises
• Cumulative installed PV capacity of the country at the end of 2018 reached 68 MW

While Norway is the most advanced electric vehicle market in the world, the Northern Europe country is now also expanding into solar. In 2018, Norway installed 23.5 MW new solar power capacity, a YoY growth of 29%, according to industry figures compiled by engineering consulting firm Multiconsult and commissioned by the Solar Energy Cluster of Norway (Solenergiklyngen). The year before, in 2017, Norway installed 18 MW, which was a growth of 50% over 2016 (see Norway Installed 18 MW PV In 2017).

While in the past Norway was on off-grid solar market, where people used solar to power their cabins on the country side, the 23.5 MW represent grid-connected solar power installations that make up the bulk of the total market volume. The growth of 29% is a result of a continuous fall in prices for solar, an increase in electricity prices that have been traditionally very low in hydro-rich Norway – and was is bolstered by a quickly growing solar market.

Most of the new installations were carried out by small and medium enterprises. A lot  was a result of word-of-mouth propagation. "We also see that smart grid, smart management systems and energy storage contribute to driving the Norwegian solar market forward," said Solenergiklyngen CEO Trine K. Berentsen.

At the end of 2018, the cumulative installed solar power capacity of Norway reached 68 MW, that's 52% more than the 45 MW reported at the end of 2017.

SolarPower Europe recently announced that Europe installed 11 GW of new solar power in 2018, of which EU-28 installed 8 GW. Germany added close to 3 GW, the largest amount of  all European countries in 2018 (see Annual PV Additions Exceed 100 GW Level First Time).