Solar is now a major renewable-power industry, measured through several different lenses: installed capacity, annual additions, electricity generation, project economics, manufacturing and employment. The figures below distinguish observed results from estimates and forecasts, and distinguish global measures from U.S.-specific data.
Key Solar Industry Statistics
These highlights summarize the most useful figures across the solar industry:
- Solar capacity reached 1,865 GW worldwide at the end of 2024, according to IRENA’s solar-capacity accounting.
- Solar added 452 GW of capacity worldwide in 2024, according to IRENA.
- Solar represented 42% of global renewable power capacity at the end of 2024, measured as a share of renewable capacity rather than generation.
- Asia received 72.0% of new renewable capacity in 2024, including all renewable technologies.
- U.S. total solar PV generation reached 303,752 thousand MWh in 2024, including utility-scale and small-scale PV in the EIA estimate.
- U.S. total solar PV generation was 77,277 thousand MWh in 2017, providing an earlier point in the EIA series.
- EIA forecast solar at 7% of U.S. electricity generation in 2025, compared with 5% forecast for 2024 and 4% in 2023.
- U.S. utility-scale PV added 18.5 GW AC in 2023, covering plants above 5 MW AC.
- U.S. utility-scale PV capacity exceeded 80.2 GW AC across 47 states after 2023, using the same plant-size definition.
- The median capacity factor in the U.S. utility-scale PV sample was 24% through 2023, with plant-level values ranging from 6% to 36%.
- Pre-incentive utility-scale PV LCOE averaged $46/MWh for U.S. projects in 2023, in 2023 dollars.
- At least 1,085 GW of solar was in U.S. interconnection queues at the end of 2023, although queue requests are not committed projects.
- Nearly 571 GW, or 53%, of queued U.S. solar capacity was paired with batteries at the end of 2023, without guaranteeing construction.
- Capacity-weighted U.S. utility-scale PV cost was $1.43/W AC in 2023, after an 8% decline from 2022.
- U.S. solar EPG employment totaled 359,000 workers in 2023, using the USEER subsector definition.
- Construction accounted for 180,620 U.S. solar EPG workers in 2023, according to USEER.
Contents
- Global solar capacity and additions
- Regional solar industry data
- Solar generation and U.S. power trends
- Utility-scale solar deployment and queues
- Solar costs, prices and value
- Solar manufacturing and workforce data
Global Solar Industry Statistics: Capacity and Additions
Global solar statistics vary by agency because capacity series use different scopes and accounting methods. IRENA reported 1,865 GW of solar capacity at the end of 2024, equal to 42% of the 4,448 GW global renewable-capacity total; these are capacity measures, not electricity-generation measures (Renewable Capacity Highlights 2025).
IRENA also reported 585 GW of renewable additions worldwide in 2024, increasing renewable capacity by 15.1%. Solar accounted for 452 GW of that increase, with solar additions growing 32.2% during the year, while solar and wind together supplied 96.6% of net renewable additions (Renewable Capacity Highlights 2025).
The IEA used a distinct solar-PV series for 2024. It estimated 550 GW of solar PV additions, nearly 30% above 2023, installed solar PV capacity of 2.2 TW after 2024, and solar PV at more than three-quarters of renewable additions; these estimates should not be substituted for IRENA’s observations because the scopes differ (Global Energy Review 2025: Electricity).
| Global measure | 2024 figure | Definition or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable capacity at year-end | 4,448 GW | Worldwide, all renewables |
| Solar capacity at year-end | 1,865 GW | IRENA accounting |
| Renewable additions | 585 GW | Worldwide, all renewables |
| Solar additions | 452 GW | IRENA capacity measure |
| Solar PV additions | 550 GW | IEA estimate, distinct scope |
Regional Solar Industry Data and Leading Markets
Asia was the center of renewable-capacity expansion in 2024, receiving 72.0% of new renewable capacity, adding 421.5 GW and reaching 2,382 GW of renewable capacity. China contributed 373.6 GW to Asia’s increase, but these regional figures cover all renewable technologies, not solar alone (Renewable Capacity Highlights 2025).
The leading-market concentration was also broad rather than solar-only: China, the United States and the European Union together accounted for 489 GW, or 83.6%, of new renewable capacity in 2024. Africa accounted for 0.7% of new global renewable capacity, while Small Island Developing States had 9 GW of renewable capacity and grew 9.3% (Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2025).
| Region or market | 2024 addition or growth | Measurement scope |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 70.1 GW; 9.0% growth | All renewable capacity |
| Germany | More than 18.8 GW | All renewable capacity |
| North America | 45.9 GW; 8.7% growth | All renewable capacity |
| South America | 22.4 GW; 7.8% growth | All renewable capacity |
| Oceania | 8.7 GW; 13.3% growth | All renewable capacity |
| Africa | 4.2 GW; 6.7% growth | All renewable capacity |
| Middle East | 3.3 GW; 9.0% growth | All renewable capacity |
These comparisons show where renewable investment was recorded, but they do not establish solar-only rankings for each region. The source reports Asia, Europe, North America and the other regional totals as all-renewables measures (Renewable Capacity Highlights 2025).
Solar Generation Statistics and U.S. Power Trends
U.S. EIA estimates show sustained growth in total solar PV generation, combining utility-scale and small-scale PV. Generation rose from 77,277 thousand MWh in 2017 to 303,752 thousand MWh in 2024, with the annual values below (Electric Power Annual, Table 3.1.A).
| Year | U.S. total solar PV generation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 77,277 thousand MWh |
| 2018 | 93,365 thousand MWh |
| 2019 | 106,894 thousand MWh |
| 2020 | 130,721 thousand MWh |
| 2021 | 164,422 thousand MWh |
| 2022 | 205,074 thousand MWh |
| 2023 | 238,937 thousand MWh |
| 2024 | 303,752 thousand MWh |
EIA’s June 2024 outlook forecast solar to supply 5% of U.S. generation in 2024 and 7% in 2025, compared with 4% in 2023. It also forecast that solar would provide more than 70% of the increase in U.S. generation in 2024; these are forecasts issued in June 2024, not final outcomes (Short-Term Energy Outlook, June 2024).
Utility-Scale Solar Deployment, Performance and Grid Queues
Berkeley Lab’s utility-scale definition covers ground-mounted plants above 5 MW AC. Its 2023 dataset recorded 18.5 GW AC of new U.S. utility-scale PV and more than 80.2 GW AC across 47 states after 2023 (Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition).
The 2023 cost sample covered 76 plants totaling 7.1 GW AC. Capacity factors ranged from 6% to 36%, with a 24% sample median, so plant performance varies substantially across the observed fleet.
Queue data describe requested interconnection capacity, not completed construction. At the end of 2023, at least 1,085 GW of solar was in U.S. interconnection queues, nearly 571 GW, or 53%, was paired with batteries, and the historical share of requested solar capacity that was built was about 10% (Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition).
Solar Costs, Prices and Project Value Statistics
For U.S. utility-scale PV projects in 2023, Berkeley Lab reported average LCOE of $46/MWh before federal incentives and $31/MWh after federal incentives. Newly signed longer-term solar PPAs averaged $35/MWh in levelized 2023 dollars; LCOE and PPA prices are related but distinct measures (Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition).
| U.S. utility-scale measure | 2023 result | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-incentive LCOE | $46/MWh | Excludes tax credits |
| Post-federal-incentive LCOE | $31/MWh | Includes federal incentives |
| Newly signed long-term PPA | $35/MWh | Levelized 2023 dollars |
| Average energy and capacity value | $45/MWh | Not LCOE or PPA price |
| Net wholesale, health and climate benefits | $13.7 billion | Berkeley Lab estimate |
Capacity-weighted utility-scale PV cost fell 8% to $1.43/W AC in 2023, equivalent to $1.08/W DC on the corresponding DC basis. Berkeley Lab’s historical series shows a 75% fall from 2010 to 2023, averaging 10% annually in the report’s series; that annual average is not a CAGR (Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition).
Solar’s average energy and capacity value was $45/MWh in 2023. Market value averaged $27/MWh in CAISO and $67/MWh in ERCOT, while Berkeley Lab estimated 2023 U.S. health benefits at $24/MWh, avoided climate damages at $101/MWh, and combined wholesale, health and climate benefits at $13.7 billion; externality estimates are not project revenue (Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition).
For distributed PV, median U.S. residential prices fell about $0.1/W in real terms from 2022 to 2023, before incentives. Median non-residential prices rose $0.1–$0.2/W, while installed prices fell approximately $0.1–$0.2/W per year across customer segments over roughly 2013–2023; the dataset excludes third-party-owned and self-installed systems and uses self-reported data (Tracking the Sun: Pricing and Design Trends for Distributed Photovoltaic Systems in the United States, 2024 Edition).
Solar Manufacturing and Workforce Statistics
The 2024 USEER estimated 359,000 U.S. solar EPG workers in 2023. The subsector included 180,620 construction workers, 57,490 professional and business-services workers, 45,982 manufacturing workers and 15,314 utility workers (United States Energy and Employment Report 2024).
Solar utilities employment grew 51% from 2022 to 2023 and 316% from 2019 to 2023. Solar manufacturing employment grew by about 1,107 workers, or 2.5%, from 2022 to 2023.
| Solar EPG employment category | U.S. workers in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction | 180,620 |
| Professional and business services | 57,490 |
| Manufacturing | 45,982 |
| Utilities | 15,314 |
| Total solar EPG | 359,000 |
USEER also cited 45 U.S. solar manufacturing facilities under construction and 61 additional announced facilities in reporting from 2024. These are pipeline and announcement counts, not operating facilities (United States Energy and Employment Report 2024).
Hiring difficulty was widespread among qualifying respondents in the 2023 survey: 89% of professional and business-services respondents reported difficulty hiring, including 26% who called it very difficult. Among qualifying construction respondents, 88% reported difficulty and 33% called it very difficult.
USEER employment is survey-based and differs from Bureau of Labor Statistics definitions, sampling and estimation. The workforce figures therefore describe the USEER solar EPG subsector rather than a directly interchangeable BLS employment total (United States Energy and Employment Report 2024).