In the first half of 2025, the global installations of solar power plants increased by 64% compared to the same period last year and reached 380 gigavatts. This is stated in the analysis of the International Energy Research Center Ember.
According to data, the world continues to beat records for entering solar capacities. In the first six months of this year, 380 GW of new capacities against 232 GWs a year earlier were commissioned. For comparison, a mark of 350 GW was reached in 2024 only in September, while in 2025-already in June.
Electricity production from solar sources over the past year increased by more than 469 teravat hours, which is 28% more compared to the previous year. Swift growth makes solar energy the most rapidly developing source of generation in the world.
China strengthens the positions
The largest increase is again recorded in China – the country more than doubled of the volume of installations and reached 256 GW, which is 67% of the global volume. A year earlier. India took the second place with 24 GW (+49%), the USA – the third with 21 GW (+4%), despite the restrictive measures in the field of investment in “pure” energy.
growth began to accelerate in Africa: over the past 12 months, the imports of Chinese solar panels on the continent increased by 60%. However, the lack of official power statistics make the real pace of development less transparent.
Ember senior analyst Nicolas Fulgum noted that the sharp increase in installations continues: “Against the backdrop of unstable energy markets, the solar energy is provided by a local source that can be introduced by record pace, regardless of the global supply chains of fiber,” He emphasized.