Global energy demand is growing, and solar energy covers an ever-increasing share of it. Although coal (35 percent) and gas (22 percent) still account for the largest share of electricity generation worldwide, the mix is ??changing. In 2015, solar energy accounted for only one percent of the global electricity mix, but it has now risen to six percent. The trend is upward. But how fast is the expansion going, and which countries are leading the way?
How many solar power plants are being built worldwide?
By 2023, new photovoltaic installations with a total output of 447 gigawatts (GW) were built worldwide. According to the European solar industry organisation SolarPower Europe, this increased global solar power generation by 38 percent to 1,624 gigawatts (GW) in just one year.
Over the same period, the expansion of wind power (+117 GW) and coal-fired power plants (+70 GW), which were connected to the grid mainly in China and India, was significantly lower. Hydropower also expanded less (+7 GW), as well as natural gas (+6 GW) and biomass (+4 GW). And global nuclear power capacity fell by two GW in 2023 because more old plants were decommissioned.
According to all forecasts, the expansion of solar energy will continue to grow significantly worldwide. In the next five years, 20 percent more systems could be built every year. This is what SolarPower Europe predicts in its medium scenario of the Global Market Outlook For Solar Power. By 2028, the world’s installed solar capacity would be 5,117 GW, and therefore greater than the current installed capacity of all coal, gas, oil and nuclear power plants combined, which is around 4,930 GW.
Falling costs accelerate expansion of photovoltaics
Above all, mass production in Chinese factories has drastically reduced module prices. This means that the costs of solar power generation have fallen by more than 80 percent worldwide in the past 15 years. In most regions, solar power is now the cheapest energy source.
In a sunny region, solar power can be generated in a solar park for between 3.5 and 5.4 euro cents per kWh. This is shown by a current study by the Fraunhofer Institute ISE. In sun-poor countries such as Germany, electricity generation in solar parks costs between 4.1 and 6.9 euro cents per kWh – that is, much less than half as much compared to electricity from new gas, coal or nuclear power plants.
How fast is solar power expanding in different countries?
Solar expansion is booming, especially in Asia. And this is particularly true in China, where 253 GW of new photovoltaic systems were connected to the grid in 2023, increasing the national capacity to 656 GW.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), photovoltaic systems currently cover around 10 percent of China’s electricity needs. An additional 299 GW of capacity is expected to be added this year.
To date, China obtains 61 percent of its energy from coal and is one of the largest emitters of CO2. The British think tank EMBER assumes that coal-fired power generation in China will therefore decline, and with it CO2 emissions.
Photovoltaics is also booming in other countries. Australia will have amassed 36 GW of solar capacity by the end of 2023, generating 15 percent of its own electricity. In Japan, with a solar capacity of 90 GW, it represents around 12 percent of national demand, and in India (90 GW), around 11 percent.
With an installed capacity of 9 GW of photovoltaic energy, Chile covers around 20 percent of its electricity needs; Brazil (39 GW), 11 percent; and the United States (173 GW) and Mexico (11 GW), six percent each.
