With the addition of at least 554.1 GW DC and as much as 601.9 GW DC of new installations in 2024 (both numbers representing a record high), the global cumulative solar PV capacity exceeds 2.2 TW, according to the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS).  

This technology supplied more than 10% of the global electricity consumption for the 1st time. Yet, the growth rate is slowing down as there was about 32% annual growth in 2024, compared to nearly 90% witnessed in the previous year, point out the analysts.

In 2023, the world reached a combined 1.6 TW capacity with the addition of 446 GW DC during the year.

According to IEA PVPS’ Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2025, China represented nearly 60% of the new global capacity with 357.3 GW DC (for the purposes of this report, IEA PVPS has converted all AC installations into DC). With over 1 TW of cumulative capacity, China hosted almost half of the global PV capacity at the end of 2024.

Europe was next with 71.4 GW DC, out of which 62.6 GW DC was installed in the European Union (EU) last year, led by Germany’s 16.7 GW DC and Spain’s 7.5 GW DC.

The US market expanded by 47.1 GW DC in the Americas, followed by Brazil’s 14.3 GW DC capacity. In the Middle East and Africa region, Turkey led with 4.1 GW of new additions last year.  

IEA PVPS

While China leads the global solar PV installations, there are other markets that show strong annual growth, including India and France. Pakistan was one example, though not in this graph of the IEA PVPS report. (Photo Credit: IEA PVPS)

In Asia, barring India’s 31.9 GW DC, putting it on the 3rd spot globally and Pakistan’s 17 GW, placing it among the top 4, other Asia Pacific markets reported a slowdown. Australia installed 4 GW while Japan settled with 5.5 GW.  

For Pakistan, the 13th edition of the IEA PVPS report specifies that the data quality is uncertain with regard to installed volumes, but the country imported as much as 24 GW of modules in 2023 and 2024, according to the China Chamber of Commerce. Nevertheless, the report writers point out that concerns are growing about ‘grid stability and the sustainability of a system burdened by legacy infrastructure costs.’

In all, at least 34 countries installed more than 1 GW in 2024, up from 29 countries in 2023. The growth is also visible from the fact that 25 nations have more than 10 GW of total cumulative capacity, and 7 have over 40 GW.

With its cumulative 124.6 GW solar PV capacity, India has overtaken Japan as the world’s 3rd largest solar PV market in terms of installed capacity.

In 2023, solar module production exceeded demand. Inventories hit 150 GW and remained high in 2024 due to weak absorption in Europe and China. Module prices continued to decline during the last year, as manufacturers attempted to secure cash flows. This stimulated growth in various markets.  

Prices started stabilizing in Q1 2025 due to concerted action by the Chinese industry as it reduced production and upstream costs went up.  

“However, the pressure on the industry remains tremendous and solutions are quite complex: with all segments of the PV value chain in significant overcapacity, the global development of PV should accelerate rapidly to over 1 TW per year to absorb this overproduction. This is a challenge based on the current dynamics of the PV market, which could lead to massive PV developments in new business models, such as Direct Air Capture, production of green hydrogen or derivatives and more,” state the analysts.

The report also touches upon the stumbling blocks for solar, despite its exponential growth. These include grid congestion leading to curtailment and/or longer delays for grid connection in several markets like the US, Austria, Japan, Spain and Denmark.

Some governments are developing curtailment policies to deal with the situation, which may lead to more power for distribution grid operators to actively manage solar generation levels, such as in Greece, or add or expand large-scale storage for grid stability as is being done in the US, Australia, China and Spain.

The complete IEA PVPS report is available on its website for free download.

All leading market intelligence agencies and experts have offered a wide range of 2024 PV installations so far, from 452 GW to 599 GW.