Solar installation has reached a global scale measured in terawatts, while U.S. data shows how utility-scale, residential and non-residential systems differ. The figures below define their periods, geographies and measurement boundaries, separating observed values from estimates.
Key Solar Installation Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2025, 2.96 TW of cumulative PV capacity was installed worldwide by year-end.
- In 2025, about 690 GW of new PV capacity was installed worldwide.
- From 2024 to 2025, global PV installations increased 15% worldwide.
- In 2025, PV supplied more than 10% of global electricity demand.
- In 2025, the PV sector supported approximately 8.2 million jobs worldwide.
- In 2025, China installed 415 GW of new PV capacity.
- In 2025, India installed 54 GW of new PV capacity.
- In 2025, the United States installed 43 GW of new PV capacity.
- In 2025, the European Union added 68 GW of PV capacity.
- In 2025, around 36 countries installed more than 1 GW of PV.
- In 2025, U.S. total solar PV capacity reached an estimated 209,304.0 MW net summer capacity.
- From 2016 to 2025, U.S. total solar PV capacity rose from 32,958.0 MW to 209,304.0 MW.
- In 2024, estimated total U.S. solar PV generation was 188,376 thousand MWh.
- Through 2024, Berkeley Lab address-level data covered 4.9 million U.S. distributed solar systems.
- In 2024, the median U.S. residential PV system size was 7.2 kW DC.
- In 2024, median U.S. residential stand-alone PV installed price was $4.0/W DC.
- From 2023 to 2024, California residential storage attachment rose from 14% to 57% of new PV systems.
- In 2024, residential third-party ownership represented 43% of U.S. PV installations.
Contents
- Global solar installation scale and growth
- Countries and regions expanding solar
- U.S. solar capacity by system scale
- Solar generation and measured outcomes
- Distributed solar system characteristics
- Solar installation costs, storage and ownership
Global Solar Installation Statistics: Scale and Growth
The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme estimated that cumulative global PV capacity reached 2.96 TW at the end of 2025, after approximately 690 GW of new installations during 2025. The same source estimates that annual installations increased 15% from 2024 to 2025.
Source: Trends in PV Applications 2026.
| Global measure | 2025 value | Scope and period |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative PV capacity | 2.96 TW | World, end of 2025 |
| New PV capacity | About 690 GW | World, 2025 |
| Annual installation change | 15% increase | World, 2024–2025 |
| New distributed PV | 282 GW | World, 2025 |
Distributed PV alone accounted for 282 GW of new global installations in 2025, up from 228 GW in 2024. These global compilation figures are estimates and include country estimates.
PV supplied more than 10% of global electricity demand in 2025 and around 12% of global electricity consumption, according to the IEA PVPS snapshot. The distinction between demand and consumption follows the supplied source labels; they should not be treated as interchangeable measures.
Source: Snapshot 2026 – Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2026.
The global PV sector supported approximately 8.2 million jobs in 2025. Installed global PV capacity was estimated to avoid about 1.3 Gt of CO2-equivalent annually at the end of 2025, but that outcome depends on assumptions about displaced generation.
Where Solar Installation Is Expanding
China dominated new PV deployment in 2025, while several other large markets added substantial capacity. The figures below are new capacity additions during 2025, not cumulative installed capacity.
| Geography | New PV capacity in 2025 | Additional reported measure |
|---|---|---|
| China | 415 GW | 16% higher than 2024; around 60% of global installations |
| India | 54 GW | 2025 addition |
| United States | 43 GW | 2025 addition |
| European Union | 68 GW | 5% higher than the previous year |
| Germany | 18 GW | 2025 addition |
| Pakistan | Estimated 14 GW | 2025 estimate |
Source: Trends in PV Applications 2026.
The source explicitly marks Pakistan’s 14 GW value as estimated. China’s approximately 60% share is a share of global new PV installations in 2025, not a share of the world’s cumulative capacity.
Around 36 countries installed more than 1 GW of PV during 2025. This country-count measure indicates the breadth of the market, while the country table shows the concentration of annual additions among major markets.
U.S. Solar Installation Data by System Scale
The U.S. Energy Information Administration separates utility-scale and small-scale solar PV capacity. EIA’s small-scale PV dataset covers systems below 1 MW and reports capacity in AC units; its small-scale values are estimated.
Source: Form EIA-861M detailed data.
| U.S. PV category | 2024 | 2025 | Measurement scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility-scale | 122,060.1 MW | 149,798.5 MW | Net summer capacity; observed |
| Small-scale | 53,228.1 MW | 59,505.5 MW | Net summer capacity; estimated |
| Total solar PV | 175,288.2 MW | 209,304.0 MW | Net summer capacity; estimated total |
Source: Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.1.A.
U.S. total solar PV capacity rose from 32,958.0 MW in 2016 to an estimated 209,304.0 MW in 2025. The same series places utility-scale capacity at 149,798.5 MW in 2025 and estimated small-scale capacity at 59,505.5 MW.
The categories describe system scale, not identical reporting systems: utility-scale capacity is reported separately from estimated small-scale capacity, and the small-scale threshold is below 1 MW.
Solar Electricity Generation and Measured Outcomes
Capacity measures the size of installed systems, while generation measures electricity produced. EIA reported 185,257 thousand MWh from U.S. utility-scale solar PV in 2024 and estimated total U.S. solar PV generation at 188,376 thousand MWh.
Source: Electric Power Annual, Table 3.3.B.
| U.S. generation measure | 2023 | 2024 | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility-scale solar PV | 139,513 thousand MWh | 185,257 thousand MWh | Observed utility-scale generation |
| Total solar PV | 142,360 thousand MWh | 188,376 thousand MWh | Estimated total generation |
Utility-scale solar PV generation rose from 13,769 thousand MWh in 2014 to 185,257 thousand MWh in 2024. Estimated total U.S. solar PV generation rose from 16,086 thousand MWh in 2014 to 188,376 thousand MWh in 2024.
The utility-scale series is observed in the supplied EIA data, while the total solar PV series is estimated. Generation and capacity therefore describe different outcomes and should not be read as the same indicator.
Distributed Solar Installation Characteristics
Berkeley Lab’s address-level data covered 4.9 million U.S. distributed solar systems through 2024, representing 93% of the market. For systems installed in 2024, the address-level dataset included 515,000 systems, or 95% of that year’s U.S. market.
The related PV-attribute dataset covered 4.0 million U.S. systems through 2024, representing 76% of the market, and included 340,000 systems installed in 2024, or 62% of that year’s market.
Source: U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2025 Data Update.
Residential systems were smaller than non-residential systems in 2024, although the average exceeded the median in both categories.
| Distributed PV measure | 2024 value | U.S. population |
|---|---|---|
| Residential median system size | 7.2 kW DC | Residential PV |
| Residential 20th–80th percentile | Roughly 4–11 kW DC | Residential PV |
| Residential average system size | 9.3 kW DC | Residential PV |
| Non-residential median system size | 35 kW | Non-residential distributed PV |
| Non-residential average system size | 232 kW | Non-residential distributed PV |
| Median module efficiency | Roughly 21% | U.S. distributed PV |
Module-level power electronics were used in 87% of residential U.S. PV systems installed in 2024, compared with 73% of small non-residential systems and 29% of large non-residential systems.
Solar Installation Costs, Storage and Ownership
Berkeley Lab reported 2024 median gross pre-incentive installed prices for U.S. host-owned, stand-alone PV. The figures exclude third-party-owned and self-installed systems, and dollar values are real 2024 dollars.
| System category | Median installed price, 2024 | Price range or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | $4.0/W DC | 20th–80th percentile: $3.0–$5.2/W |
| Small non-residential | $3.2/W DC | Median |
| Large non-residential | $2.4/W DC | Median |
| Residential cash-financed | $3.5/W DC | Median |
| Residential loan-financed | $4.7/W DC | Median |
Source: U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2025 Data Update.
The median residential loan-versus-cash price gap grew from $0.6/W in 2017 to $1.2/W in 2024. Loan prices include financing fees passed through the installer, and soft costs plus other balance-of-system costs were estimated at roughly 80% of residential installed price in 2024.
DOE’s modeled 2025 Q1 benchmark minimum sustainable prices provide a separate benchmark rather than project averages. PV-only benchmarks were $1.07/W for utility-scale, $1.95/W for commercial and $2.78/W for residential systems; PV-plus-storage benchmarks were $1.71/W, $2.96/W and $4.33/W respectively, all in 2024 dollars per watt DC of PV and excluding subsidies.
Source: Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmarks.
California residential storage attachment rose from 14% of new PV systems in 2023 to 57% in 2024. This excludes storage added to existing PV and stand-alone storage.
The median residential battery paired with U.S. PV was 13.5 kWh in 2024, while median batteries paired with small and large non-residential PV were 20 kWh and about 550 kWh. About 90% of residential and non-residential storage-sizing data came from California, so these battery figures are heavily influenced by that state.
Residential third-party ownership rose from 26% of U.S. PV installations in 2023 to 43% in 2024. Among U.S. non-residential PV systems installed in 2024, 53% were commercial, 34% agricultural and the remainder tax-exempt sites.