Solar power generation in 40 years

Solar PV Energy Factsheet

Solar energy can be harnessed two primary ways: photovoltaics (PVs) are semiconductors that generate electricity directly from sunlight, while solar thermal technologies use sunlight to heat water for

Renewable Energy

This interactive chart shows the amount of energy generated from solar power each year. Solar generation at scale – compared to hydropower, for example – is a relatively modern renewable

Growth of photovoltaics

OverviewHistory of leading countriesSolar PV nameplate capacityCurrent statusHistory of market developmentSee alsoExternal links

The United States was the leader of installed photovoltaics for many years, and its total capacity was 77 megawatts in 1996, more than any other country in the world at the time. From the late 1990s, Japan was the world''s leader of solar electricity production until 2005, when Germany took the lead and by 2016 had a capacity of over 40 gigawatts. In 2015, China surpassed Germany to become the world''s largest produc

Renewable Energy

Solar electricity is growing rapidly, but can it really dominate the global energy system? Here is what it will take for us to

The momentum of the solar energy transition

Decarbonisation plans across the globe require zero-carbon energy sources to be widely deployed by 2050 or 2060. Solar energy is the most widely available energy resource on Earth, and

Solar energy is going to power the world much sooner than you think

Solar electricity is growing rapidly, but can it really dominate the global energy system? Here is what it will take for us to power the planet on sunshine

Growth of photovoltaics

From 2016 to 2022, PV has seen an annual capacity and production growth rate of around 26%, doubling approximately every three years.

Solar power generation drives electricity generation growth over the

We expect the combined share of generation from solar power and wind power to rise from about 18% in 2025 to about 21% in 2027. In our STEO forecast, utility-scale solar is the fastest

World surpasses 40% clean power as renewables see record rise

Clean power set to outpace fast demand growth, leading to a decline in fossil generation in the coming years London, 8 April – The world reached a new milestone as low-carbon sources –

Renewable electricity – Renewables 2025 – Analysis

Globally, renewable power capacity is projected to increase almost 4 600 GW between 2025 and 2030 – double the deployment of the previous five years (2019-2024). Growth in utility-scale and distributed

Solar power in the United States

Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2024, utility-scale solar power generated 219.8 terawatt

World surges past 40% clean power in record renewables boom

Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world''s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember...