With the world’s policy support for solar energy and other renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic technology has seen rapid development. However, from Saint Petersburg’s perspective, generating solar photovoltaic (PV)  energy in a Subarctic setting is hindered by several challenges, which diminish the enthusiasm for its adoption. Our work demonstrates that St. Petersburg is capable of generating more solar photovoltaic energy in summer than  Central Europe, East and Southeast Asia. This finding could enhance our understanding of the seasonal and annual potential of solar PV energy in Subarctic region.