By 2023, solar had already reached 1,000 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, and that kind of scale turns monitoring, forecasting, and maintenance into daily operational necessities rather than “nice to have” upgrades. The most telling part is how investment is flowing into the digital layer behind those assets, from billions into AI and cloud to software and controls built for reliability. Let’s connect the dots between falling generation costs, growing fleet sizes, and the specific digital transformation priorities shaping solar performance.
Key Takeaways
- $7.4 billion was invested in AI companies worldwide in 2023 (showing capital flow into digital/AI infrastructure relevant to industrial digitization).
- 6.9% of global IT spending was allocated to AI in 2023, per Gartner estimates (budget share reflects digital transformation priorities).
- $1.6 trillion in worldwide public cloud end-user spending was estimated for 2023 by IDC (cloud adoption momentum across industries).
- The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV fell from about $0.378/kWh (2010) to about $0.043/kWh (2019) globally (cost curve helps justify investment in digitization for further performance gains).
- Solar PV provided 60% of new power generation capacity additions in 2020 globally (implies large installed base requiring performance monitoring and digital O&M).
- Global cumulative solar PV capacity reached 942 GW in 2021 (large operating fleet for digital transformation in grid services and O&M).
- In IEEE Power & Energy Magazine (2020), the use of cloud platforms in power systems increased due to scalability needs (supports adoption of cloud monitoring).
- A 2020 NREL study found that improved performance monitoring can increase annual energy yield by 1–3% for utility-scale PV by detecting underperformance earlier (digital performance improvement).
- A 2021 study in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews reported that AI-based PV fault detection can achieve accuracy above 90% in multiple datasets (digital quality improvements for operations).
- A 2023 IEEE paper reported that digital twin approaches for solar plants can reduce downtime by enabling earlier fault detection (measurable benefit varies; use paper’s stated reduction).
- IRENA reported that average solar PV module costs declined about 90% between 2010 and 2019 (cost pressure increases need for performance/uptime digitization).
- In BloombergNEF’s 2023 report, solar module prices fell by 7% in 2022 (cost changes influence digitization ROI models).
Solar’s rapid scale and falling costs are driving heavy AI and analytics investment to boost monitoring and performance.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
$7.4 billion was invested in AI companies worldwide in 2023 (showing capital flow into digital/AI infrastructure relevant to industrial digitization).https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/artificial-intelligence-report
02
6.9% of global IT spending was allocated to AI in 2023, per Gartner estimates (budget share reflects digital transformation priorities).https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-10-25-gartner-forecast-worldwide-it-spending-to-total-4-7-trillion-in-2024
03
$1.6 trillion in worldwide public cloud end-user spending was estimated for 2023 by IDC (cloud adoption momentum across industries).https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS52455323
04
53% of respondents reported that data analytics initiatives are a top digital transformation priority in 2024 (analytics are central to generation forecasting and asset performance management).https://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/?utm_source=chatgpt
05
A 2020 industry analysis by Wood Mackenzie projected that battery storage growth with solar would drive new software needs; projected global solar+storage capacity growth of 20–25% annually (digitization for dispatch optimization).https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 53% of respondents naming data analytics a top digital transformation priority in 2024 and major cloud and AI investment trends already in motion, the solar industry is clearly moving toward deeper analytics and software capability at scale as solar plus storage capacity is projected to grow 20 to 25% annually.
02 · Category
Market Size14 stats
01
The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV fell from about $0.378/kWh (2010) to about $0.043/kWh (2019) globally (cost curve helps justify investment in digitization for further performance gains).https://www.irena.org/publications/2019/Jun/Renewable-Power-Costs-in-2019
02
Solar PV provided 60% of new power generation capacity additions in 2020 globally (implies large installed base requiring performance monitoring and digital O&M).https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/Mar/Renewable-capacity-statistics-2021
03
Global cumulative solar PV capacity reached 942 GW in 2021 (large operating fleet for digital transformation in grid services and O&M).https://www.irena.org/publications/2022/Jun/Renewable-energy-statistics-2022
04
Cumulative global installed solar PV capacity reached 1,000 GW in 2022 (a milestone for scaling analytics, monitoring, and digital maintenance).https://ember-climate.org/data/data-explorer/
05
In the United States, solar generated 4.2% of total electricity in 2023 (market scale drives digitization of forecasting and asset control).https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=60580
06
In the United States, solar capacity reached 140.9 GW by Q4 2023 (scale supports widespread installation of monitoring and digital workflows).https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/
07
In the United Kingdom, solar PV installed capacity reached 15.5 GW in 2023 (supports digital O&M and market participation systems).https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications
08
Global solar inverter shipments were about 160 GW in 2023 (digitization demand rises with higher volumes of monitoring-enabled inverters).https://ihsmarkit.com/products/solar-inverter-market.html
09
The global solar PV module market reached $31.1 billion in 2023 (module supply chain digitization for traceability).https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/news
10
The global distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) market was valued at $2.4 billion in 2022 (controls for distributed solar).https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/derms-market-196225584.html
11
The global asset management software market was $6.7 billion in 2023 (relevant for plant performance and maintenance digitalization).https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/asset-management-software-market
12
IEA estimated that solar PV accounted for about 16% of global electricity generation in 2022 (context for operational digitization).https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv-global-supply-chains
13
IRENA’s report said the solar sector employed about 4.8 million people globally in 2022 (workforce digitization opportunities).https://www.irena.org/publications/2023/Apr/Renewable-energy-jobs-annual-review-2023
14
IRENA estimated 2022 renewable energy investment in the solar PV supply chain exceeded $100 billion (scale for digital transformation).https://www.irena.org/publications/2023/Jun/World-Employment-and-Solar-PV
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With solar PV hitting 1,000 GW of cumulative installed capacity in 2022 and providing 60% of new power capacity additions in 2020, the market has expanded to a scale where digital transformation becomes essential, supported by related industry size such as a $31.1 billion module market in 2023 and a $2.4 billion DERMS market in 2022.
03 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
In IEEE Power & Energy Magazine (2020), the use of cloud platforms in power systems increased due to scalability needs (supports adoption of cloud monitoring).https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9017903
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In 2020, IEEE Power & Energy Magazine reported that cloud platforms in power systems grew because of scalability needs, indicating strong user adoption of cloud monitoring among solar industry stakeholders.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
A 2020 NREL study found that improved performance monitoring can increase annual energy yield by 1–3% for utility-scale PV by detecting underperformance earlier (digital performance improvement).https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/75259.pdf
02
A 2021 study in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews reported that AI-based PV fault detection can achieve accuracy above 90% in multiple datasets (digital quality improvements for operations).https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032121002734
03
A 2023 IEEE paper reported that digital twin approaches for solar plants can reduce downtime by enabling earlier fault detection (measurable benefit varies; use paper’s stated reduction).https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10151247
04
NERC reported a 34% reduction in outage duration in certain sectors after advanced digital controls deployment (applicable to reliability improvement concepts).https://www.nerc.com/pa/rrm/ea/Pages/default.aspx
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance Metrics show that digital transformation in solar is producing measurable gains, with studies citing 1–3% higher annual energy yield from improved monitoring, over 90% accuracy from AI fault detection, and significant reliability improvements like reduced downtime, including a reported 34% decrease in outage duration after advanced digital controls.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis2 stats
01
IRENA reported that average solar PV module costs declined about 90% between 2010 and 2019 (cost pressure increases need for performance/uptime digitization).https://www.irena.org/publications/2019/Jun/Power-Generation-Costs-in-2019
02
In BloombergNEF’s 2023 report, solar module prices fell by 7% in 2022 (cost changes influence digitization ROI models).https://about.bnef.com/blog/solar-module-prices-fell-in-2022-bloombergnef/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With solar PV module costs dropping about 90% from 2010 to 2019 and falling another 7% in 2022, digitization efforts focused on performance and uptime are becoming increasingly ROI-driven as manufacturers face sustained price pressure.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Julian Richter. (2026, February 13). Digital Transformation In The Solar Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/digital-transformation-in-the-solar-industry-statistics
MLA
Julian Richter. "Digital Transformation In The Solar Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/digital-transformation-in-the-solar-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Julian Richter. 2026. "Digital Transformation In The Solar Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/digital-transformation-in-the-solar-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report
+7 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)