Installed solar capacity quantifies the maximum electrical power that all solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems combined can generate at any given moment. This measurement indicates a nation’s or the world’s potential to produce electricity from sunlight.
[pdf] Solar is on an impressive growth ramp, reaching 91 GW of cumulative capacity by the end of 2023 and 121 GW by the end of 2024. EIA expects 26.3% growth in installations in 2025, reaching 153 GW of installed capacity through the end of the year.
[pdf] The EIA expects 18.2 GW of utility-scale battery storage capacity installations in 2025. This would represent roughly 70% growth from the 26 GW of cumulative capacity installed through 2024 and adds to the 66% growth last year. Roughly half of US grid-scale storage is in California.
[pdf] Report from CSPPLAZA: In 2017, global installed capacity of CSP totals 5133MW, representing an increase of 2.3% over 2016, according to statistics from CSPPLAZA research center.
[pdf] In H1 2025, the world added 380 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity – a staggering 64% jump compared to the same period in 2024, when 232 GW came online. China was responsible for installing a massive 256 GW of that solar capacity.
[pdf] In 2021, China's newly installed grid-connected photovoltaic capacity reached 54.88GW, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%, of which the installed capacity of distributed photovoltaic power plants was 29.28GW, a year-on-year increase of 88.7%, and accounting for 53.4% of the total new installed capacity, and breaking 50% for the first time in history.
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