From powering billions in new investments to breaking efficiency records, the solar PV industry is experiencing an unprecedented global surge, as evidenced by staggering statistics like a 22% capacity jump to 1,419 GW in 2023 and a market value expected to near half a trillion dollars this decade.
Key Takeaways
- Global solar PV capacity reached 1,419 GW by the end of 2023, representing a 22% increase from 2022
- Solar PV accounted for 75% of all newly added renewable capacity in 2023, totaling 447 GW of new installations worldwide
- The global solar PV market size was valued at USD 230.79 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 433.07 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 7.3%
- Worldwide solar PV manufacturing capacity hit 1,000 GW annually by end-2023, led by China at 95%
- China's polysilicon production capacity reached 1.2 million tons in 2023, 80% of global supply
- Global wafer production capacity exceeded 700 GW in 2023, with China at 96%
- Average solar PV module price fell to USD 0.10/W in 2023, down 50% YoY
- Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV averaged USD 0.049/kWh globally in 2023, cheapest power source
- US utility-scale solar PV LCOE dropped to USD 24-96/MWh in 2023
- Global solar PV cumulative installations 1,050 GW in US residential by 2023 end
- Germany added 15 GW solar PV in 2023, 60% rooftop
- California installed 7.1 GW solar PV in 2023, 54% residential
- Bifacial modules accounted for 65% of global shipments in 2023
- N-type TOPCon technology efficiency hit 25.4% in mass production modules 2023
- Global HJT module shipments reached 15 GW in 2023, up 150% YoY
The solar PV industry saw explosive global growth, investment, and innovation in 2023.
Adoption and Installation
- Global solar PV cumulative installations 1,050 GW in US residential by 2023 end
- Germany added 15 GW solar PV in 2023, 60% rooftop
- California installed 7.1 GW solar PV in 2023, 54% residential
- Global rooftop solar PV installations reached 50 GW annually in 2023
- Italy cumulative solar PV 30 GW by 2023, added 5.2 GW new
- Texas utility-scale solar 6.5 GW added in 2023
- France installed 4.5 GW solar PV in 2023, targeting 20 GW annual by 2028
- Global off-grid solar PV systems served 840 million people by 2023
- Australia cumulative rooftop solar 3.7 million homes, 17 GW by 2023
- Poland added 12 GW solar PV in 2023, mostly prosumers
- UK installed 1.6 GW solar PV in 2023, ground-mount dominant
- India rooftop solar reached 10.7 GW cumulative by March 2024 FY end
- Japan residential solar installations 1.2 GW in FY2023
- Global agrivoltaics installations 5 GW by 2023
- Florida US solar capacity 13 GW cumulative 2023, added 2.2 GW
- Greece added 1.8 GW solar PV in 2023
- Global floating solar capacity 6 GW operational by 2023
- South Africa installed 2.5 GW solar PV in 2023 under REIPPPP
- Canada added 1.1 GW solar PV in 2023, Ontario leading
- Mexico solar PV cumulative 8.5 GW by 2023, added 1.4 GW
- Global C&I solar installations 25 GW in 2023
- Sweden solar PV growth 2.5 GW cumulative 2023
- Israel added 2.8 GW solar PV in 2023
- Global solar PV in microgrids 10 GW by 2023
- New York US installed 1.2 GW solar in 2023
- Portugal solar PV 4 GW cumulative 2023, added 1.5 GW
- Global perovskite tandem pilots installed 100 MW by 2023
- Chile added 2.1 GW solar PV in 2023
- US community solar 5 GW operational by 2023, added 1 GW
- Global solar PV share of electricity 5.5% in 2023
Adoption and Installation Interpretation
The sun is no longer knocking at our door; it’s busy installing itself on our rooftops from California to Poland, powering our homes, our industries, and even our farms, proving that the future isn't just bright—it's already being wired into the grid.
Costs and Economics
- Average solar PV module price fell to USD 0.10/W in 2023, down 50% YoY
- Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV averaged USD 0.049/kWh globally in 2023, cheapest power source
- US utility-scale solar PV LCOE dropped to USD 24-96/MWh in 2023
- Balance of system (BOS) costs for solar PV reduced 20% in 2023 to USD 0.30/W
- Global polysilicon spot price averaged USD 8.7/kg in Q4 2023, down from USD 28/kg peak
- Solar PV system costs in Germany fell to EUR 1,200/kWp for rooftop in 2023
- India solar PV PPA price hit record low INR 2.06/kWh (USD 0.025) in 2023 auction
- US residential solar installation cost averaged USD 2.81/W before incentives in Q3 2023
- Global solar PV EPC costs declined 15% to USD 0.65/W in 2023
- O&M costs for utility solar PV averaged USD 12/kW-yr in 2023
- China module export price FOB USD 0.095/W in Dec 2023
- Australia's large-scale solar LCOE USD 0.035-0.050/kWh in 2023
- Wafer prices dropped to USD 0.095/W in 2023 average
- Cell prices averaged USD 0.078/W globally in Q4 2023
- Brazil solar auction average price BRL 107.8/MWh (USD 0.022/kWh) in 2023
- Europe ground-mount solar CAPEX EUR 0.55/Wp in 2023
- US commercial solar costs USD 2.50/Wdc in 2023
- Global financing cost for solar PV averaged 4.5% in 2023, down from 5.2%
- Inverter costs fell to USD 0.04/W for string inverters in 2023
- India rooftop solar benchmark cost INR 43,350/kWp (USD 520) in 2023
- Utility-scale solar storage hybrid LCOE USD 0.045/kWh in 2023 auctions
- Global solar PV value chain cost per watt USD 0.22 in 2023
- Spain solar PPA prices averaged EUR 25/MWh in 2023
- US community solar LCOE USD 0.06-0.09/kWh unsubsidized 2023
- Bifacial module premium declined to 5% over mono PERC in 2023
- Vietnam solar module landed cost USD 0.12/W CIF in 2023
- Global solar PV IRR averaged 12-15% for developers in 2023
- Floating solar CAPEX USD 0.85/W in 2023
- US residential post-ITC cost USD 1.90/W average Q4 2023
Costs and Economics Interpretation
The solar industry is now throwing a price-slashing party so aggressive that even Scrooge McDuck would blush at the savings, dropping the cost of clean energy to "practically free" levels across the globe.
Market Size and Growth
- Global solar PV capacity reached 1,419 GW by the end of 2023, representing a 22% increase from 2022
- Solar PV accounted for 75% of all newly added renewable capacity in 2023, totaling 447 GW of new installations worldwide
- The global solar PV market size was valued at USD 230.79 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 433.07 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 7.3%
- Asia-Pacific dominated the solar PV market with a 60.5% share in 2023, driven by China and India installations
- Annual solar PV capacity additions are expected to reach 900 GW by 2030, up from 350 GW in 2023
- The US solar PV market grew by 51% in 2023, adding 32.4 GWdc of capacity
- Europe installed 54 GW of new solar PV in 2023, led by Germany with 14.6 GW
- China's solar PV capacity exceeded 609 GW by end-2023, accounting for 43% of global total
- India added 14.6 GW of solar PV in FY2023-24, reaching cumulative 81.81 GW
- Global solar PV investments hit USD 500 billion in 2023, surpassing all other power sectors
- Utility-scale solar PV represented 56% of new US capacity additions in 2023
- Brazil's solar PV capacity grew 86% in 2023 to 28 GW
- Australia's solar PV additions reached 14.5 GW in 2023, with rooftop solar at 3.2 GW
- The solar PV module market is projected to grow from USD 78.4 billion in 2024 to USD 203.5 billion by 2032 at 12.7% CAGR
- Japan installed 7.5 GW of solar PV in FY2023, cumulative 85 GW
- Global distributed solar PV capacity reached 480 GW by 2023
- South Korea's solar PV capacity hit 28.9 GW in 2023, up 20% YoY
- The Middle East solar PV market grew 35% in 2023, led by UAE and Saudi Arabia
- Global solar PV supply chain value exceeded USD 200 billion in 2023
- Vietnam added 11.6 GW solar PV in 2023, cumulative 18 GW
- The solar PV inverter market size was USD 12.5 billion in 2023, projected to USD 25.8 billion by 2030
- Spain installed 4.8 GW solar PV in 2023, up 30% from 2022
- Global solar PV cumulative capacity expected to triple to 4,500 GW by 2030
- Netherlands solar PV growth at 15 GW cumulative by 2023
- Turkey added 5.1 GW solar PV in 2023
- Global rooftop solar PV market valued at USD 62.3 billion in 2023, CAGR 9.2% to 2030
- UAE solar PV capacity reached 5.5 GW by 2023, with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at 5 GW target
- Global solar PV O&M market size USD 12.4 billion in 2023, to USD 32.1 billion by 2032
- Saudi Arabia plans 40 GW solar PV by 2030, with 2.8 GW added in 2023
- Global solar PV tracker market valued at USD 4.2 billion in 2023, CAGR 11.5%
Market Size and Growth Interpretation
The sun, no longer content with just powering photosynthesis, has launched a hostile takeover of the global energy sector, seizing three-quarters of all new power plants and turning half a trillion dollars into its personal venture capital fund.
Production and Capacity
- Worldwide solar PV manufacturing capacity hit 1,000 GW annually by end-2023, led by China at 95%
- China's polysilicon production capacity reached 1.2 million tons in 2023, 80% of global supply
- Global wafer production capacity exceeded 700 GW in 2023, with China at 96%
- Top 10 solar PV module manufacturers controlled 81% of global cell production capacity in 2023
- India's solar PV module production capacity reached 64 GW by 2023 under PLI scheme
- US solar PV cell manufacturing capacity was 5 GW in 2023, up from 1.7 GW in 2022
- Vietnam's solar PV module production capacity hit 40 GW in 2023
- Global n-type TOPCon cell production capacity surpassed 300 GW by Q4 2023
- Southeast Asia solar PV ingot/wafer capacity grew to 50 GW in 2023
- Europe's solar PV manufacturing capacity was 35 GW modules in 2023, focused on PERC and TOPCon
- China's module production capacity reached 1,039 GW in 2023, 82% global share
- Global PERC cell capacity peaked at 600 GW but declined to 500 GW utilization in 2023
- India's PLI scheme awarded 39 GW module capacity to 8 companies by 2023
- US IRA spurred 50 GW new module manufacturing announcements by 2023
- Malaysia solar PV module capacity at 20 GW, cells at 10 GW in 2023
- Global HJT cell production capacity reached 70 GW by end-2023
- Thailand's solar PV production capacity expanded to 15 GW modules in 2023
- China's silicon wafer capacity utilization rate was 85% in 2023, producing 450 GW equivalent
- Global BC cell capacity was 15 GW in 2023, mostly pilot lines
- Indonesia aims for 10 GW solar PV manufacturing by 2025, with 2 GW operational in 2023
- Europe's ingot capacity grew to 20 GW in 2023 via REC and others
- Global tandem perovskite-silicon pilot capacity 1 GW in 2023
- US module capacity operational hit 20 GW by Q4 2023
- China's TOPCon capacity exceeded 600 GW by 2024 start, retrofits in 2023
- Global solar PV recycling capacity was 1.5 GW in 2023, projected 10 GW by 2030
- India's cell production capacity 5 GW operational in 2023
- Brazil local solar PV module capacity 2 GW in 2023
- Global solar glass capacity 200 GW in 2023, China dominant
Production and Capacity Interpretation
The global solar industry's manufacturing map now resembles a giant game of "Risk" where China has conquered most of the board, leaving other nations scrambling to build their fortifications, with the resulting oversupply promising to make clean energy wonderfully and disruptively cheap.
Technology and Innovation
- Bifacial modules accounted for 65% of global shipments in 2023
- N-type TOPCon technology efficiency hit 25.4% in mass production modules 2023
- Global HJT module shipments reached 15 GW in 2023, up 150% YoY
- PERC module market share dropped to 35% in 2023 from 70% in 2022
- Average commercial module efficiency rose to 22.1% in 2023
- Back-contact (IBC) cells reached 25.8% efficiency in lab 2023
- Tandem perovskite-silicon cells achieved 33.9% efficiency record in 2023
- Global tracker adoption rate 50% for utility solar in 2023
- Half-cut cell modules standard, reducing BOS by 5% in 2023
- Multi-busbar (MBB) tech in 80% of TOPCon modules 2023
- Global energy yield gain from bifacial 10-20% in real-world 2023 data
- HJT bifaciality ratio averaged 95% in 2023 products
- TOPCon passivation tech improved open-circuit voltage to 720 mV in 2023
- Global smart module adoption 40% with MLPE in 2023
- Perovskite stability exceeded 2,000 hours damp heat in 2023 tests
- Large wafer 210mm M10 used in 55% module production 2023
- AI-optimized solar farm layouts increased yield 3-5% in 2023 pilots
- Global heterojunction capacity utilization 60% in 2023
- Shingled solar cells reduced mismatch losses 2% in 2023 modules
- Lab perovskite modules hit 20% aperture efficiency 2023
- Digital twin tech deployed in 20% large solar projects 2023
- Global n-type share of cell production 45% in Q4 2023
- TOPCon degradation rate <0.4%/yr in field tests 2023
- BC (back contact) modules commercialized at 24.5% eff 2023
- Global bifacial glass-glass modules 70% market in 2023
- Drone-based IV curve tracing standard in 30% O&M 2023
- SWIPT (simultaneous wireless info power) tested in solar IoT 2023
Technology and Innovation Interpretation
The solar industry spent 2023 engaged in a ruthless, high-stakes game of efficiency leapfrog, where bifacial modules won the popularity contest, N-type TOPCon emerged as the valedictorian, and perovskites lurked in the lab as the terrifyingly brilliant prodigy waiting to make it all obsolete.
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