IRENA: PV dominates in 171GW global renewable push in 2018

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
China alone added 45GW in capacity in 2018, hitting the 175GW mark last year (Credit: Grass27 / Pixabay)

Growth in Asia, the US and a handful of European, South American and Middle Eastern states helped PV become the driving force of a renewable boom last year, according to the International Renewable Agency (IRENA).

Stats released today by the body show some 94GW of grid-connected PV generating capacity were rolled out worldwide in 2018. According to the numbers, this represents more than half of the 171GW added across all renewables, which now account for a third of all global capacity.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

PV’s jump from 386GW in 2017 to 480GW in 2018 sees the industry continue its upwards flight over the years, with capacity building from 2013 (135GW) to 2014 (173GW), 2015 (221GW) and 2016 (292GW).

Fresh 45GW of PV in China

With 64GW (210GW to 274GW) of all 94GW of PV capacity added last year, Asia was the clear driving force behind the industry’s momentum. IRENA figures placed China (130GW to 175GW), Japan (29GW to 55GW), India (17GW to 26GW), South Korea (5.8GW to 7.8GW) and Pakistan (742MW to 1.5GW) as some of the fastest growing states between 2017 and 2018.

Elsewhere, the US (42GW to 49GW), Europe (110GW to 119GW) and Australia (5.9GW to 9.76GW) also recorded a solid PV build-up last year. European hotspots included Germany (42.3GW to 45.9GW) and the Netherlands (2.9GW to 4.1GW), while France (8.6GW to 9.4GW), Italy (19GW to 20GW) and Spain (4.72GW to 4.74GW) grew at varying rates during 2018.

Meanwhile, laggard continents and regions such as South America (3.4GW to 5.4GW), Africa (3.7GW to 5.1GW),  Eurasia (3.6GW to 5.6GW, most in Turkey), the Middle East (2.07GW to 3.02GW) all added capacity. Mexico (674MW to 2.5GW) and Brazil (1.09GW to 2.29GW) were singled out by IRENA among the 2018 PV highlights.

Off-grid PV hits 2.9GW worldwide

Off-grid PV too continued climbing rungs in 2018, hitting the 2.9GW generating capacity mark after growing all throughout 2015 (1.5GW), 2016 (1.98GW) and 2017 (2.5GW).

IRENA’s breakdown by continent and region placed again Asia (1.36GW to 1.6GW) as the frontrunner. Africa (853MW to 938MW) scored second, followed by the Middle East (156MW to 206MW), Central America and Caribbean (88MW to 88.9MW) and South America (73MW to 81MW).

See here for the full version of IRENA's statistical update for 2018

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

September 3, 2025
Developers Alight Neoen have commissioned the 100MWp Hultsfred Solar Farm in Småland, southern Sweden.
September 3, 2025
Chinese solar manufacturer Trinasolar has signed a patent licence agreement with French module manufacturing startup Holosolis to use its TOPCon solar cell technology.
September 3, 2025
India has added 2.8GW of rooftop solar in H1 2025, a 158% year-on-year surge from just 1.1GW in the same period last year.
September 3, 2025
Huasun claims it has set new record efficiencies for HJT-perovskite tandem solar cells at both laboratory and commercial scales.
September 3, 2025
Singapore-headquartered independent power producer Peak Energy has broken ground on a 65MWp solar project in Isabela, in the Cagayan Valley region of northeast Luzon, Philippines. 
September 3, 2025
LONGi, Jinko Solar, Trina Solar and JA Solar posted combined net losses of nearly RMB11 billion (US$1.54 billion) in H1 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines