While economic analysts debate clean energy’s future, the global solar revolution just keeps powering ahead. The numbers don’t lie.
Global solar PV capacity is projected to hit a staggering 655 GW in 2025, generating about 1.39 trillion kWh of electricity worldwide. That’s a lot of juice from the sun. And it’s not slowing down much, despite the doomsayers.
Sure, there’s a hiccup coming. After two decades of non-stop growth, 2026 will mark the first-ever annual decline in solar additions, dropping slightly to 649 GW. Blame policy shifts in China and the United States. Uncle Sam’s solar boom is expected to take a 50% nosedive, thanks to shifting political winds. China’s government introduced a new renewables pricing mechanism that caused significant alarm among investors. SEIA reports show political attacks are threatening 519 solar projects across America. But let’s be real—this is barely a blip in the bigger picture.
The solar industry is now worth $277.93 billion in 2024 and climbing to $282.25 billion in 2025. Not too shabby for technology that was once dismissed as a hippie pipe dream. By 2029, we’re looking at $334.01 billion.
Solar accounted for roughly 90% of global renewable power expansion. Coal executives must be sweating.
China still dominates with a massive 609,921 MW of installed capacity. The U.S. comes in second at 139,205 MW, followed by Japan, Germany, and India. Even Brazil and Australia are getting serious about sun power.
The most impressive stat? Wind and solar combined have jumped from just 1% of global electricity in 2005 to 15% in 2024. They’ll hit about 20% by 2026. That’s exponential growth in energy-world terms.
After the 2026 speed bump, growth is expected to rebound to 688 GW in 2027. Despite policy headwinds, solar’s economics keep getting better. US solar installations are exploding with 39.6 GW added in 2024 alone, pushing total capacity to 220 GW. The sun keeps rising every morning, and solar panels keep getting cheaper. Some things are just that simple.
References
- https://www.oilandgas360.com/global-solar-power-expansion-to-dip-for-the-first-time-ever-in-2026/
- https://www.theenergymix.com/global-solar-growth-to-slow-in-2026-as-china-u-s-scale-back/
- https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/solar-energy/solar-pv-statistics
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-future-solar-power-capacity-by-country/
- https://www.carbonbrief.org/iea-renewables-will-be-worlds-top-power-source-by-2026/
- https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/installed-solar-pv-capacity
- https://www.solarpowereurope.org/insights/outlooks/global-market-outlook-for-solar-power-2025-2029/detail
