Analysis-Iran War Revives European Rooftop Solar Demand to Cut Energy Bills

Iran Conflict Drives Surge in European Rooftop Solar Demand, Slashing Bills

European Rooftop Solar Boom Amid Energy Crisis

By Christoph Steitz

FRANKFURT, April 23 (Reuters) - Demand for rooftop solar systems across Europe has surged since the start of the Iran war, as households rush to shield themselves from soaring power prices triggered by the worst global energy disruption in history.

The conflict has pushed oil, gas and electricity prices sharply higher, hitting companies and households alike and accelerating efforts to find cheaper alternatives and reduce exposure to volatile energy markets.

Solar is among those options, with demand from homeowners more than doubling for some industry players since the war began in late February, according to interviews with more than half a dozen energy equipment wholesalers and renewable utilities in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands.

It's a timely boost for a technology that accounts for about a third of Europe's total power capacity, but saw the pace of new installations dip last year for the first time in nearly a decade. Industry advocates argue Europe still needs to do far more to cut its reliance on imported oil and gas.

Energy Dependency and Government Response

"The war has merely exposed the problem that has existed all along: energy dependency," said Janik Nolden, co-founder of German privately owned solar equipment wholesaler Solarhandel24, adding European governments had been "walking into a trap".

‘This is About European Resilience’

Solarhandel24 said net sales more than tripled in March to nearly 70 million euros ($82 million) from a year earlier, and are expected to triple again this month to as much as 60 million euros. The company plans to expand its workforce by about 85 people, roughly a third, to cope with demand.

To secure supply, Solarhandel24 has stocked up around half a million solar panels in recent weeks - a costly decision, Nolden said, but one he sees as worthwhile given the potential for net sales to rise to around 400 million euros in 2026 from about 250 million euros last year.

Germany's Enpal is seeing a similar trend. The energy firm said orders rose 30% year-on-year in March to 130 million euros, while April was on track for a 33% increase to about 120 million euros, driven by rooftop solar installations.

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

The financial figures from Solarhandel24 and Enpal have not been previously reported.

Industry Data and Consumer Trends

While aggregated installation data for Europe are not yet available, industry associations in Germany and the Netherlands have confirmed a pickup in demand since the war began.

Executives say homeowners are increasingly opting for full systems combining solar panels - nearly 90% of which are supplied by China - with batteries and electric-vehicle wallboxes, allowing surplus power to be stored and used later.

That trend is also lifting demand for energy storage technologies, which Holland Solar's Wijnand van Hooff says is seeing demand increases of 40%-50%.

"This cannot be explained by purely seasonal factors," said Filip Thon of E.ON, Europe's largest energy network operator, which also sells rooftop solar systems. Customer requests, he said, have nearly doubled year-on-year.

A Structural Shift?

Some executives also point to upcoming changes to Germany's renewable energy law as an additional driver of demand for rooftop installations, which typically cost between 10,000 and 20,000 euros for an average family home.

The war-driven surge comes after the pace of new European solar installations slowed in 2025, according to industry lobby SolarPower Europe, with weak residential demand a key factor following the phase-out of support schemes.

Shares in SMA Solar, the world's third-largest solar inverter maker and one of the few remaining European equipment producers, have risen about 50% since the war began. The company has also reported an uptick in demand.

"We view the spike in demand as a structural shift that current geopolitical events are accelerating, not creating," said Ed Janvrin, who heads the solar and heating business at Britain's OVO Energy, adding April sales in the division were roughly 10 times higher than a year earlier.

Global Market Dynamics and Overcapacity

Chinese solar manufacturers, however, say any war-related boost in global demand is unlikely to significantly ease the sector's overcapacity, with China alone having enough manufacturing capacity to meet this year's expected global demand nearly twice over.

Even so, the surge highlights how geopolitical shocks can rapidly reprice the value of renewables, said Jannik Schall, co-founder of German renewables firm 1Komma5Grad, noting that solar demand during the 2022 energy crisis had been even stronger.

"The recurring energy crises prove the renewables sector right."

($1 = 0.8504 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Petra Wischgoll in Duesseldorf, Yamini Kalia, Raechel Thankam Job and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru, Susanna Twidale in London and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam. Editing by Mark Potter)