Europe’s decades-long dependence on foreign energy boiled over following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a shockwave that still ripples across the continent. This year, the near-collapse of the Iberian Peninsula’s power grid triggered 16-hour blackouts, exposing the fragility of European infrastructure. What was once economic policy has been elevated to a matter of national security. Could this be the tipping point to propel renewable energy into ubiquity?

“The fact that solar and renewables are now part of this dialogue shows that we’re no longer fringe. We’re material and mainstream,” says Raghu Belur, Co-founder and Chief Products Officer of Enphase. “Every market is competitive, but energy is uniquely so. We’re not just competing with other solar providers, but also fossil fuel-based systems. That makes innovation critical.”

However, cost remains a sticking point in the transition. “I worry that people are increasingly skeptical of the cost of renewable energy initiatives. The issue lies in the narrative we have been told: the transition to renewable energy will be smooth and not cost more. However, the reality is that renewable energy is not as cheap as hydrocarbons, and many are unwilling to pay extra for sustainability,” cautions Håkon Volldal, CEO, Nel Hydrogen. While the EU has advanced through supportive legislation, he notes that the bloc “simply does not have the resources to fully fund the green transition right now.”