SolarPower Europe launches Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2025-2029
SolarPower Europe has launched its annual report for Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2025-2029. The report highlights the rapid growth of solar PV installation across the globe, activity in key markets, and predicted trends over the next five years.
Below you can find highlights of the report, as well as six graphs with summaries, detailing the key findings and trends. We’ve also included the eight policy recommendations by the Global Solar Council.
To read the full report, visit solarpowereurope.org.
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Report highlights
According to SolarPower Europe’s Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2025-2029, in 2024, solar power continued to dominate as the fastest-growing renewable energy source globally – marking an incredible 20th consecutive year.
While solar PV still makes up a smaller portion of the world’s total electricity, its growth is rapidly accelerating everywhere, setting new records in both developing and developed nations.
In the European Union, solar power generation saw a significant milestone in 2024, overtaking coal for the first time. Solar’s share of the EU’s electricity mix climbed above 10%, and in countries like Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, and Spain, it soared even higher, reaching 20% or more, with Hungary and Spain even hitting around 25%.
Key points
- 597 GW of solar power was installed globally in 2024 – a 33% surge over 2023, and crossed the milestone of 2 terawatts (TW) total solar in late 2024.
- The annual report predicts the world could be installing 1 TW of solar per year by the end of the decade.
- By the end of 2024, solar PV made up 46% of global renewable capacity, with 2.2 TW installed. By 2030, we expect global installed solar PV capacity to exceed 7 TW by 2030. This would represent about 65% of the total renewable capacity required to meet the 11 TW global target.
- While solar continues to grow globally, its distribution remains uneven. In 2024, China added 329 GW of solar capacity (55% of global installations). While India has more than doubled its installations in 2024, with a 145% annual market increase (30.7 GW) added in 2024.
- Across Europe, solar installations grew 15% YoY. This marks a slowdown from 48% in 2023 and 50% in 2022. Share of market also fell from 16% in 2023 to 14% in 2024 – setting Europe 4th globally behind APAC, China, and the Americas.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO SolarPower Europe: “The solar age is truly here. While the uptake of solar varies across regions across the world, a common theme is the importance of flexible, electrified energy systems – underpinned by critical technology like battery storage. Decisionmakers across the globe should ensure that their flexibility plans match, and maximise, the solar reality.”
Global outlook for solar power in 6 graphs
Graph 1: Solar grows by record 597 GW
In 2024, the world installed a record-breaking 597 gigawatts (GW) of solar power; a 33% increase compared to what was installed in 2023.
By the end of 2024, solar power made up 46% of all renewable energy capacity globally, reaching a total of 2.2 terawatts (TW).
What this means:
- Record growth: Solar installations are at their highest ever growth.
- Rapid increase: Solar power grew by 33% in just one year.
- A major contributor: Solar accounts for almost half of the world’s renewable energy.
Graph 2: Top 10 markets install 81% of global solar
While solar energy is expanding worldwide, it’s not growing at the same rate everywhere.
In 2024, China installed a massive 329 GW of solar power. That’s a huge 55% of all the solar installed globally that year.
Looking forward, changes in how China’s solar market works in 2025 could lead to a temporary slowdown in the total amount of solar installed worldwide in 2026.
What this means:
- China dominates: Over half of the world’s new solar in 2024 was in China.
- Uneven growth: Solar growth isn’t consistent across all countries.
- Potential dip: Global solar installations might temporarily decrease in 2026 due to changes in China.
Graph 3: The world crossed the 2 TW threshold of total solar installations in 2024
In 2024, the world reached a total of 2.2 terawatts (TW) of installed solar power, with a massive 597 gigawatts (GW) added in that single year.
What’s really striking? It took 68 years from the first commercial silicon solar cell to hit the 1 TW milestone in 2022.
Then, incredibly, it only took 2 more years to double that capacity to 2 TW in 2024!
What this means:
- Solar growth has boomed: Thanks to several factors, we’ve seen global solar development increase exponentially in the past couple of years.
Graph 4: Annual global solar market growth expected to slow to 10% in 2025
The latest report from SolarPower Europe predicts a slower pace of global solar market growth for 2025-2029.
While solar power continues to expand, its growth is currently uneven, with some regions seeing much more development than others.
Taking this into account, the Global Solar Council highlights some key recommendations:
For more developed countries: The focus should be on making the electricity grid more flexible, investing in battery storage, and making it easier and faster to get solar projects approved and connected to the grid.
For less developed countries: The priority is to attract more investment in solar energy.
For everyone, everywhere: It’s crucial to train more people to create a skilled solar industry workforce, and to set ambitious goals for both solar and energy storage.
What this means:
- Slight slowdown ahead: While still growing, the rate of new global solar installations is expected to decrease from 2025.
- Uneven progress: Solar deployment isn’t happening equally across all countries.
- Targeted actions needed: Different regions require specific strategies, like grid upgrades in advanced economies and investment in developing nations, alongside a global focus on workforce and targets.
Graph 5: The world could be installing 1 TW of solar per year by 2030!
The world hit a major milestone in late 2024, surpassing 2 terawatts (TW) of total installed solar power.
Now, according to SolarPower Europe’s annual report, the pace is set to accelerate even further. They predict we could be installing a staggering 1 TW of solar every year by the end of this decade.
What this means:
- 1 TW per year predicted: Experts predict the world could be installing a massive 1 TW of solar annually by 2030.
- 65% global target by 2030: By 2030, solar is projected to represent a significant majority (around 65%) of the total renewable capacity needed for global climate goals.
Graph 6: Solar is leading the way to 11 TW
SolarPower Europe’s Global Market Outlook shows that solar PV made up 46% of the total 4.8 TW global renewable capacity in 2024, with 2.2 TW solar installed.
Looking ahead to 2030, global solar capacity is expected to climb beyond 7 TW. That’s around 65% of all the renewable energy needed to meet the world’s ambitious 11 TW target for a sustainable future.
What this means:
- Solar has reached almost half renewable energy installed: The world saw a record-breaking year for new solar installations, highlighting its increasing momentum.
- Solar leading renewable energy by 2030: Solar is rapidly becoming the leading source of renewable energy, projected to make up most of the capacity needed to meet global climate goals by 2030.
Policy recommendations for global solar PV deployment by Global Solar Council (GSC)
The Global Solar Council believes solar PV’s scalability and affordability make it key for the clean energy transition, meeting demand and boosting energy security.
However, their medium forecast of 7.1 TW solar installed globally by 2030 falls short of their 8 TW target. Therefore, they urge policymakers to adopt eight key recommendations to accelerate solar deployment.
1 – Enhance grid flexibility and capacity
EU policymakers are creating better rules for renewable energy, especially for permits, electricity markets, and solar on buildings. Investors now need these rules to stick at national level.
But to really make the energy transition happen by 2030, the EU needs a big, new investment plan. This means using current EU funds wisely and creating a new EU Clean Energy Investment Fund for after 2026.
Also, state aid rules should support resilience and sustainability without scaring off investors. Clear auctions and stable contracts will help bring in private money for a cleaner future.
2 – Close the investment gaps and promote low-cost solar finance
Hitting the global goal of tripling renewables by 2030 needs a $12 trillion investment. Right now, the solar industry gets about half a trillion yearly.
More low-cost public and private funding is especially needed for solar projects in less developed countries, but investment isn’t flowing fast enough there.
Stronger support from big development banks with tools to reduce risk and offer new financing could boost solar in these underserved areas. Engaging with major private investors on smaller, local solar projects and setting standards is also key.
Plus, funding for grid upgrades should count as climate finance to support large-scale renewables. The International Solar Finance Group is working to lower the cost of capital and attract more private investment in solar.
3 – Promote solar plus energy storage installations and inter-regional power supply
Combining solar power with energy storage boosts grid resilience and wider electricity access. Grid operators should look at the advantages of local solar and storage, which can cut down the need for long, high-voltage power lines by generating electricity closer to where it’s used.
Setting a global goal for energy storage and improving how different regions’ grids connect could create a clear plan for investment and growth. For instance, the G7 and many governments at COP29 Baku want to install 1,500 GW of global energy storage by 2030 – a sixfold increase from 2024.
Governments need to back flexible solutions that work with solar, like batteries, pumped hydro, time-based pricing, and ways to manage electricity demand.
4 – Strengthen global solar supply chains
To ensure the solar industry’s long-term success and reach the 8 TW global installation target by 2030, we need aligned initiatives worldwide for fair, open, and strong supply chains.
Policymakers should create trade rules that support growth, maintain quality, encourage competition without increasing costs for consumers, and meet rising global demand. To strengthen these supply chains, the Global Solar Council is collaborating with the WTO, IRENA, and others to discuss trade issues and agree on a long-term strategy for the global solar PV supply chain.
5 – Streamline permitting processes for solar projects
Quick and clear permitting is key for getting solar projects online, building trust, and making them economically viable, especially in price-sensitive markets.
Simple solutions like “one-stop shops” and automatic approvals after a set time could really speed up solar projects – a win for everyone.
Investing in training for the authorities involved can also make the permitting process much faster. The Global Solar Council is working with the Planning4Climate Commission to tackle these permitting issues.
6 – Introduce ESG standards all over the world in solar business for sustainability
To ensure the solar sector’s long-term sustainability, governments need clear environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rules for solar PV.
The Global Solar Council supports the Solar Stewardship Initiative, a leading ESG effort for solar PV, and encourages companies to participate. The SSI addresses human rights, governance, and environmental factors.
7 – Skilled solar workforce creation and just and equitable energy transition
Solar PV is the biggest employer in renewables, with 7 million jobs already. To hit the target of 8 TW solar by 2030, millions more jobs are needed. It’s crucial that these jobs are safe and part of a fair energy transition.
The Global Solar Council urges governments to support the Global Solar Training Standards Initiative, which is creating global certification standards for solar training in partnership with the GWO.
Policymakers should set workforce targets within national energy plans to match solar installation goals and create retraining programs for workers moving from carbon-heavy industries to solar.
8 – Set stable policies and solar target under NDCs
All less developed and emerging countries need mandatory national solar installation targets within their climate goals (NDCs) and stable policies to draw in investments. Changing policies after the fact must be avoided.
Innovative support, along with better regulations, auction systems, and electricity market changes, should continue.
Countries should create specific plans to meet energy needs through off-grid innovations and clear strategies to boost socio-economic benefits with targets for Agri-PV, floating PV, and building-integrated PV.
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