Solar Energy Market: Global Capacity, Additions and Generation

Solar is now the largest source of new power capacity in the world. IRENA's Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 show that solar PV capacity increased by 451.9 GW in 2024 [1]. That took total solar capacity to 1,865 GW at the end of 2024, an increase of 32.2% [1].

Over three-quarters of all renewable capacity expansion in 2024 was solar [1]. Solar and wind together made up 96.6% of net renewable additions [1].

At the end of 2024, global renewable power capacity stood at 4,448 GW [1]. Solar accounted for the largest share with 1,865 GW, followed by renewable hydropower at 1,283 GW and wind at 1,133 GW [1]. Other renewables included 151 GW of bioenergy and 15 GW of geothermal [4].

On this basis, solar made up about 41.9% of global renewable capacity at end-2024 (FREEE.REPORT calculation: 1,865 GW / 4,448 GW).

The IEA publishes a different estimate. It puts 2024 solar PV additions at about 550 GW and global installed solar PV capacity at an estimated 2.2 TW [2]. The IEA and IRENA use different data collection and reporting methods, so their figures should not be mixed in one series.

China dominated solar build-out in 2024, adding 278 GW, followed by India with 24.5 GW [1]. China's additions equal about 61.5% of global solar PV additions in 2024 (FREEE.REPORT calculation: 278 GW / 451.9 GW).

Across all renewables, China contributed almost 64% of added capacity in 2024, while Central America and the Caribbean contributed 3.2% [1]. Off-grid solar outside Eurasia, Europe and North America reached 6.3 GW by 2024 [1].

In 2025 China again recorded more than half of the global increase in both solar capacity and solar generation, according to Ember [3]. India installed more new solar capacity than the United States for the first time in 2025 [3].

Ember reports that solar generation rose by a record 636 TWh in 2025 to reach 2,778 TWh, a 30% increase on 2024 [3]. Solar generation was 1,333 TWh in 2022 and just 256 TWh in 2015 [3]. Ember says solar has been doubling roughly every three years [3].

In 2025 solar overtook wind power in global generation for the first time [3]. Solar's rise met 75% of the net increase in global electricity demand in 2025 [3].

For 2024, the IEA estimates solar PV generation increased by about 480 TWh, more than any other source [2].

• Storage is increasingly paired with solar. Ember reports battery costs fell 20% in 2024 and a further 45% in 2025, while battery deployment grew 46% to an estimated 250 GWh in 2025 [3].
• Ember estimates the batteries installed in 2025 could shift 14% of the new solar generation from midday to other hours [3].
• Despite record growth, IRENA says renewable capacity must expand by 16.6% a year until 2030 to reach the 11.2 TW needed for the global tripling goal [1].

Capacity figures come from IRENA's Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 press release and its publication summary [1][4]. IRENA measures renewable capacity as maximum net generating capacity installed and connected at the end of the calendar year [4]. Generation figures come from Ember's Global Electricity Review 2026, which covers 2025 data [3]. IEA estimates from the Global Energy Review 2025 are shown separately because they use a different method [2].

FREEE.REPORT calculations: solar share of renewable capacity (1,865 GW divided by 4,448 GW) and China's share of solar additions (278 GW divided by 451.9 GW). Capacity is in gigawatts (GW); generation is in terawatt-hours (TWh).