Solar Energy Facts and Figures
China had the highest installed solar power capacity in 2019 of 204 GW. This was followed by the European Union at 131 GW and United States at 76 GW. These numbers are for photovoltaics (PV), one of two technologies used to harness solar energy, the other being concentrated solar power (CSP) or the use of solar thermal energy to produce electricity via steam. The top 13 counties are listed below.
Country | Solar power capacity in MW (2019) |
---|---|
China | 204700 |
European Union | 131700 |
United States | 75900 |
Japan | 63000 |
Germany | 49200 |
India | 42800 |
Italy | 20800 |
Australia | 15928 |
United Kingdom | 13300 |
South Korea | 11200 |
France | 9900 |
Spain | 8761 |
Netherlands | 6725 |
China had the largest growth in installed solar power (PV) capacity among the top solar power countries with 30 Gigawatts installed in 2019. European Union and the United States each installed 16 GW and 13.3 GW respectively during 2019.
Country | Year | Solar power capacity in MW |
---|---|---|
China | 2015 | 15150 |
China | 2016 | 34540 |
China | 2017 | 53000 |
China | 2018 | 45000 |
China | 2019 | 30100 |
European Union | 2015 | 7230 |
European Union | 2016 | 6863 |
European Union | 2017 | 5717 |
European Union | 2018 | 8300 |
European Union | 2019 | 16000 |
United States | 2015 | 7300 |
United States | 2016 | 14730 |
United States | 2017 | 10600 |
United States | 2018 | 10600 |
United States | 2019 | 13300 |
Japan | 2015 | 11000 |
Japan | 2016 | 8600 |
Japan | 2017 | 7000 |
Japan | 2018 | 6500 |
Japan | 2019 | 7000 |
Germany | 2015 | 1450 |
Germany | 2016 | 1520 |
Germany | 2017 | 1800 |
Germany | 2018 | 3000 |
Germany | 2019 | 3900 |
India | 2015 | 2000 |
India | 2016 | 3970 |
India | 2017 | 9100 |
India | 2018 | 10800 |
India | 2019 | 9900 |
Italy | 2015 | 300 |
Italy | 2016 | 373 |
Italy | 2017 | 409 |
Italy | 2018 | 420 |
Italy | 2019 | 600 |
Australia | 2015 | 935 |
Australia | 2016 | 839 |
Australia | 2017 | 1250 |
Australia | 2018 | 3800 |
Australia | 2019 | 3700 |
United Kingdom | 2015 | 3510 |
United Kingdom | 2016 | 1970 |
United Kingdom | 2017 | 900 |
United Kingdom | 2018 | 408 |
United Kingdom | 2019 | 233 |
South Korea | 2015 | 1010 |
South Korea | 2016 | 850 |
South Korea | 2017 | 1200 |
South Korea | 2018 | 2000 |
South Korea | 2019 | 3100 |
France | 2015 | 879 |
France | 2016 | 559 |
France | 2017 | 875 |
France | 2018 | 1483 |
France | 2019 | 900 |
Spain | 2015 | 56 |
Spain | 2016 | 55 |
Spain | 2017 | 147 |
Spain | 2018 | -856 |
Spain | 2019 | 4017 |
Netherlands | 2015 | 450 |
Netherlands | 2016 | 525 |
Netherlands | 2017 | 853 |
Netherlands | 2018 | 1300 |
Netherlands | 2019 | 2575 |
As of 2016 (latest data available), Spain had the most concentrated solar power installations with a capacity of 2300 MW, followed by the United States with 1738 MW and India with 225 MW of installed capacity. There are a total of 11 countries with CSP deployments. It seems to be catching on more slowly than Solar photovoltaic (PV) power.
Country | Total installed capacity in MW |
---|---|
Spain | 2300 |
United States | 1738 |
India | 225 |
South Africa | 200 |
Morocco | 180 |
United Arab Emirates | 100 |
Algeria | 25 |
Egypt | 20 |
Australia | 12 |
China | 10 |
Thailand | 5 |
Solar panel cost in the US varies from $5920 for a 2 kW system to $74000 for a 25 kW system before tax credits. After tax credits, the cost varies between $4381 and 54760 for the same sizes.
System Size | Before tax credits | After tax credits |
---|---|---|
2 kW | 5920 | 4381 |
3 kW | 8880 | 6571 |
4 kW | 11840 | 8762 |
5 kW | 14800 | 10952 |
6 kW | 17760 | 13142 |
7 kW | 20720 | 15333 |
8 kW | 23680 | 17523 |
10 kW | 29600 | 21904 |
12 kW | 35520 | 26285 |
15 kW | 44400 | 32856 |
20 kW | 59200 | 43808 |
25 kW | 74000 | 54760 |