Bruegel’s European Union renewables value tracker quantifies and visualises the economic value of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources across Europe. Building on ENTSO-E Transparency Platform data, it shows the operational and earning patterns of VRE in Europe’s electricity market. The analysis is based on three metrics. The capacity factor (CF) describes how much of a technology’s maximum technical output potential (installed capacity) is used over a specific period. Example: if a solar power plant with an installed capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) generates 50 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity in a given hour, its capacity factor is 0.5 in that hour. The market value (MV) is the average revenue a technology earns by selling its generated electricity in the wholesale market (in the absence of subsidies). Example: if a given country has an average wholesale price of €100/MWh in a given year, but a specific technology generates electricity during hours with an average market price of €50/MWh, this technology’s market value would be below the average wholesale market price. The capacity revenue (CR) brings the two concepts together: multiplying the CF and MV, it expresses the yearly economic value of one unit of installed generation capacity. Example: if a given technology has an average capacity factor of 0.5 and an average market value of €50/MWh in a given country and year, it would result in a capacity value of €50/MWh x 0.5 x 8760h = €219,000/MW or €219/kW per year. Each of these metrics is calculated per year and per country, enabling cross-country comparison and analysis over time.