World to achieve 2 TW of total photovoltaic (PV) this year

SolarPower Europe’s annual Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024-2028 reveals that the world is likely to achieve 2 TW of total solar this year, after reaching 1 TW in 2022.

By 2028, the world could be installing 1 TW of solar a year, but financing and energy system flexibility must be unlocked. 12 trillion USD is needed to deliver the global target of tripling renewables by 2030, according to the report.

Between 2024 and 2028, year-on-year growth is expected to slow in the face of high interest rates, an energy crisis resolved – for now, and grids around the world struggling to keep up with renewable demand.

In 2023, global solar yearly installations grew by 87 percent on the previous year.

2023 brought 447 GW of new solar compared to the 239 GW installed in 2022, bringing the world’s total solar capacity to 1.6 TW.

Record growth is not experienced in all parts of the world, with 80 percent of installations concentrated in the top 10 markets – which disproportionately include advanced economies.

The top 10 markets represent 80 percent of global solar installations in 2023, with the leaderboard disproportionately drawn from advanced economies. While the number of advanced solar markets – installing at least 1 GW annually – grew in 2023 to reach 31 countries (up from 28 in 2022), the list does not heavily feature emerging economies.

As per the WEI 2024 report, clean energy spending in emerging and developing economies only accounts for 15 percent of total clean energy investment worldwide. $ 12 trillion USD needs to be deployed to achieve the COP28 target of tripling renewables by 2030 – solar will deliver half of this target.

Global solar yearly installations almost doubled in 2023, growing by 87 percent on the previous year. The year brought 447 GW of new solar compared to the 239 GW installed in 2022.

2023’s new solar installations would cover more than half of India’s annual electricity needs or more than Brazil’s entire consumption. Compared to Europe, the annual installations would exceed the total yearly electricity consumption of Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Czechia, Austria, Portugal, and Greece – combined.

SolarPower Europe’s annual Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024-2028 reveals growth rates not seen in over a decade, since 2010 when the global solar market was only 4 percent of what it is today.

China has dominated global solar growth, installing 57 percent of the world’s solar in 2023.

China will determine the rate of global solar growth, though it continues to be one of the most dynamic, and difficult to predict, markets. In 2023 alone, China installed 57 percent of global capacity – 253 GW – equivalent to the levels installed globally in 2022. On the manufacturing side, a massive scale-up of capacity has led to solar panel price collapses of around 50 percent last year, and a growing consolidation of the solar manufacturing industry in the country.

Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council said: “China continues to set the pace of the global solar transition. But to keep 1.5C alive, it is more important than ever that we stay united as an industry. No one country or company can achieve this goal on their own. We must work together to build new markets with untapped potential, create fair and resilient supply chains, and inject massive amounts finance for solar to lead the energy transition.”