Last April, the installed capacity of the solar industry reached 1 TW worldwide and is expected to more than double by 2025.

The global solar industry is celebrating. And rightly so, since last April the installed capacity of this type of renewable energy reached the remarkable figure of 1,000 GW (or 1 TW, depending on preference), thanks to an excellent 2021 in which 168 GW of capacity were added to the global electricity grid. This is confirmed by the report.Global Market Outlook for Solar Power of SolarPower EuropeThis also marks the ninth consecutive year that the photovoltaic industry has broken its annual installation record. This trend is expected to continue in 2022, with forecasts pointing to solar energy installations exceeding 200 GW for the first time.

Annual installation of solar generation capacity

Such is the boom in the solar industry that in just 10 years, installed capacity has grown from 100 GW to the current 1,000 GW, multiplying its presence in the energy production sector tenfold. The last three years (2018-2021) have been crucial to this growth, despite the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, doubling capacity from 500 GW to 1 TW. Thus, solar energy has become the fastest-growing renewable energy source, accounting for 168 GW of the 302 GW of renewable capacity installed in 2021. This surpasses its closest competitor, wind power, by 70 GW, and exceeds the combined capacity of all non-solar renewable energy sources: hydroelectric with 25 GW, biomass with 10 GW, and other sources with 6 GW. This trend was evident in the…An excellent year for the Spanish solar industry.

Thus, the share of solar electricity generation in the global electricity mix has tripled in just six years, going from 1.1% in 2015 to the current 3.7% reached in 2021; although still far from the rest of the renewable energies, which contributed 24.6% of global electricity generation.

Percentage of solar energy’s share in global electricity generation

Among the many factors that can explain this explosive growth in solar energy, we find the decline in production costs. Solar energy has become the cheapest type of electricity generation source, not only among renewables but globally, with production costs falling by 90%. Thus, generating one MWh of solar energy costs US$36, compared to US$38 for wind energy, US$60 for nuclear energy, US$108 for coal, and US$167 for combined cycle power plants.

Generation costs, per megawatt hour, of the solar industry and its competitors

Asia is driving a growing solar industry

According to the aforementioned document, the world will see a growing demand for solar energy over the next four years, with the 200 GW expected for 2022 being joined by an additional 255.8 GW in 2023 to reach an annual installation of 347 GW in 2026. This represents an annual growth rate 18% higher than what was predicted in the previous Global Market Outlook for Solar Power.

The Asian market is playing a fundamental role in the solar industry’s record-breaking year after year. Last year, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 56% of solar installations, although it lost 6 percentage points of market share to the Americas and Europe, which now represent 22% and 19% respectively.

When it comes to countries, the world’s two largest economies dominate the leading positions in solar installations. China stands as the undisputed leader in this sector, experiencing annual growth of 14% and a record 54.9 GW of installed solar capacity—double that of its closest competitor, the United States. Meanwhile, the US market grew by a remarkable 42%, reaching 27.3 GW. Rounding out the top three is India, which increased its solar power generation capacity by 14.2 GW.

Top 10 markets in annual solar installations

The top 10 countries with the most active solar industry in 2021 are completed by Japan (6.4 GW), Australia (6 GW), Germany (6 GW),Brazil (5.5 GW)Spain (4.8 GW), South Korea (4.4 GW) and Poland (3.8 GW).