SolarPower Europe’s annual Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024-2028 reveals that, in 2023, global solar yearly installations grew by 87 per cent on the previous year, adding 447GW of new solar to the world’s total solar capacity to 1.6TW.

The world is now likely to achieve 2TW of total solar this year, but installations are disproportionately drawn from advanced economies. While the number of advanced solar markets – installing at least 1GW annually grew in 2023 to reach 31 countries, the list does not heavily feature emerging economies.

However, between 2024 and 2028, year-on-year growth is expected to slow in the face of high interest rates, an energy crisis resolved, for now, and grids around the world struggling to keep up with renewable demand.

Michael Schmela, director of market intelligence at SolarPower Europe notes: “It’s all just a little bit of history repeating – the world revises its solar estimates upwards and we get a glimpse at the vast potential of solar. By 2028, we could be installing more than 1TW of solar a year. It’s now about setting targets in line with reality, and addressing the familiar challenges: permitting, regulations enabling profitable business models, and the new frontier, system flexibility, through vast amounts of battery storage capacities.”

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