June 14, 2023
Total Global Solar Capacity
Capacity has been increasing year-over-year from just 6 GW in 2008 to almost 1200 GW in 2022 with about 70% being installed over the last 6 years and a 20% growth rate over the past 2 years.
In 2021 and 2022 total global grid-connected capacities were about 168 GW and 212 GW, respectively.
2022 Market Share
In 2022, of the 1200 GW of global capacity, China accounted for 33% (almost 400 GW) while the US represented about 12% (about 150 GW).
Rounding out the top 5 are: Japan (7% / 80 GW), India (6% / 70 GW) and Germany (5% / 65 GW).
The rest of the world combined accounted for 37% (440 GW).
Capacity by Country
All major regions have shown significant year-over-year capacity growth rates, with the exception of Germany.
1.IAEA, 2023 (Last update on 2023-04-22), PRIS – Reactor status reports – Permanent Shutdown – By Country (iaea.org)
2.SolarPower Europe – Leading the Energy Transition (N\A). Global Market Outlook. Retrieved, https://api.solarpowereurope.org/uploads/Solar_Power_Europe_Global_Market_Outlook_report_2022_2022_V2_07aa98200a.pdf
3.IEA (2022, May). Renewable Energy Market Update Outlook for 2022 and 2023, https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/d6a7300d-7919-4136-b73a-3541c33f8bd7/RenewableEnergyMarketUpdate2022.pdf
4.IEA (2022, September), Solar PV, https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv
5.NREL (2022, April, 26). Spring 2022 Solar Industry Update, https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/82854.pdf
6.Wood Mackenzie (2023, March), US Solar Market Insight Executive summary 2022 Year in review, https://storage.pardot.com/131501/1678318525z4cHefcr/2022_Year_in_Review___Solar_Market_Insight.pdf
7.Santos B, (2022, December, 19), Europe added 41.4 GW of new solar in 2022. https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/12/19/europe-added-41-4-gw-of-new-solar-in-2022/
8.ENKHARDT S. AND SANTOS B. New global solar capacity additions hit 191 GW in 2022, says IRENA. https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/22/new-global-solar-capacity-additions-hit-191-gw-in-2022-says-irena/
9.Wikipedia, N\A, Growth of photovoltaics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_photovoltaics
- Ember-climate (2023, April, 12), Wind and solar reach a record 12% of global electricity in 2022. https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/global-electricity-review-2023/