Solar Energy Facts and Figures

Top countries by solar power capacity in 2019

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

Growth of photovoltaic solar energy capacity in top countries

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

Concentrated solar power deployments in the world

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

Average cost of solar panels in the US

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
Source: energysage