Solar Is Now So Big in Europe That Power Is Going to Waste

Over the past decade, hundreds of millions of solar panels have been installed from Sicily to Lapland, turning what was once a niche technology into Europe’s biggest source of power during the summer months. That rapid buildout is now running into a new problem: The system around it hasn’t kept up. Capacity growth is slowing, financial returns are falling and a record amount of electricity is being wasted because grids can’t handle the surge in output.

With longer daylight hours, the solar season is in full swing. Capacity added over the past year has expanded the generation base and records have ...