Solar photovoltaic power generation chart

What is the difference between solar energy generation and installed solar capacity?

Solar energy generation, measured in gigawatt-hours (GWh) versus installed solar capacity, measured in gigawatts (GW).

How has solar energy generating capacity changed since 2009?

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy generating capacity has grown by 41 per cent per year since 2009 1. Energy system projections that mitigate climate change and aid universal energy access show a nearly ten-fold increase in PV solar energy generating capacity by 2040 2, 3.

How many PV solar installations are there in the world?

The resulting dataset expands the previous publicly available facility-level data for PV solar energy by 432% (in number of facilities), including 18,449 new installations in China, 9,906 in Japan, 4,525 in the United States, 2,021 in India and 17,918 in the European Economic Area.

What is global photovoltaic power potential by country?

The World Bank has published the study Global Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country, which provides an aggregated and harmonized view on solar resource and the potential for development of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants from the perspective of countries and regions.

Is solar energy a first step towards developing solar energy?

Through a systematic literature survey, this review study summarizes the world solar energy status (including concentrating solar power and solar PV power) along with the published solar energy potential assessment articles for 235 countries and territories as the first step toward developing solar energy in these regions.

What is the contribution of solar energy to global electricity production?

While the contribution of solar energy to global electricity production remains generally low at 3.6%, it has firmly established itself among other renewable energy technologies, comprising nearly 31% of the total installed renewable energy capacity in 2022 (IRENA, 2023).