Power systems in Central Europe are emerging as key players in the global energy transition through the rapid expansion of solar farms and locally made BESS.
A report by Ember was used by Reuters to analyse the findings.
Since 2022, countries including Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland have sharply increased the share of electricity generated from solar farms to strengthen domestic energy supplies. This rise has driven fossil-fuel generation to record lows in 2025.
Solar growth has been matched by widespread BESS deployment, with many systems built locally and supported by job-protection policies. Together, these technologies are helping the region move away from legacy fossil-fuel infrastructure and towards cleaner, more resilient power systems.
Austria and Hungary lead this shift. Austria, once reliant on Russia for around 90 % of its gas, has drastically reduced Russian imports and now sources most of its gas from Slovakia. Hungary still purchases Russian oil and gas, but has lowered its gas-fired electricity from over 25 % before 2022 to below 20%.
In 2025, Austria generated about 17 % of its electricity from solar and 10 % from fossil fuels, compared with 6% and 19% in 2022. Hungary’s solar share has climbed to roughly 33%, with fossil generation down to 22%, from 14 % and 35 % respectively two years earlier.
Romania, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have also expanded solar generation while reducing fossil-fuel use. Cumulative solar capacity across the five nations has risen by roughly 460 % since 2019, from 8 GW to more than 45 GW in 2024 – well above Europe’s 145 % average increase.
Battery storage is also accelerating. Between 2022 and 2025, Austria, Hungary and Romania boosted BESS capacity by about 472 %.
Project data indicates regional capacity could grow more than tenfold by 2030, reinforcing Central Europe’s role as a growing force in the global shift from fossil fuels.
[Infographic credit: Reuters]
