Europe added 65.1 GW of solar capacity in 2025. It also lost 40,000 solar jobs – the first workforce contraction in nearly a decade, according to SolarPower Europe. Behind those job losses is a wave of installer insolvencies that is creating a problem the industry has been slow to acknowledge: a growing population of residential solar systems with no warranty support, no maintenance provider, and no monitoring.
By Ben Hayden
08 Jul 2026
Homeowners who do not own a rooftop solar installation will talk to neighbors who do. Failure to address the orphaned system issue risks Europe’s next growth phase, argues Ben Hayden. | Image: Kindel Media
Europe added 65.1 GW of solar capacity in 2025. It also lost 40,000 solar jobs – the first workforce contraction in nearly a decade, according to SolarPower Europe. Behind those job losses is a wave of installer insolvencies that is creating a problem the industry has been slow to acknowledge: a growing population of residential …
