Spurred by the war in Ukraine and the European Union pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, the EU is aggressively ramping up the use of solar power.

Photovoltaic plants are spreading across fields and gliding across lakes, each facility providing enough electricity for hundreds of or thousands of homes. Solar panels are appearing atop government buildings, grocery stores, train cars and schools, and even farms are embracing novel sun-powered technologies to shield crops from hail and scorching sun while producing energy.