According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), solar PV could cover 13% of global power generation by 2030, thanks to a dramatic capacity expansion, from the current 227 GW to 1,760-2,500 MW by 2030.
Recent cost reductions for solar power are expected to continue into the future, with an up to 59% cut in costs possible in the next ten years. Consequently, average annual capacity additions could more than double in the next 14 years. In 2015, solar PV accounted for 20% of total new capacity additions and solar installations have soared from 40 GW to 227 GW in the last five years.
Regional industry group SolarPower Europe (former EPIA) expects solar PV installations to exceed 60 GW worldwide in 2016. The association forecasts grid-connected capacity to reach 516 GW by the end of 2019 and 716 GW by 2020. China could install 87 GW of new capacity by 2020 to reach 130 GW by 2020, exceeding by far installations in the United States (+59 GW to 85 GW), India (+52 GW to 57 GW) and Japan (+29 GW to 63 GW).
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.