The global utility-scale solar PV sector has exceeded the threshold of 1TW of operating capacity, meaning that the cumulative capacity of utility-scale solar in operation has doubled every three years since 2016.
This is according to Wiki-Solar, which tracks project updates and deployment information around the world, and reported the milestone yesterday. The database attributes much of this growth to consistently strong performances from the world’s leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms; the top 36 EPCs now account for 131GW of operating solar plants around the world, of which 28% has been commissioned since the start of 2024.
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These companies are led by US-based SOLV Energy, which is responsible for 15.5GW of operational capacity, ahead of fellow US firm McCarthy Building (8.5GW) and India-based Larsen & Toubro (7.2GW). However, Wiki-Solar also notes that the involvement of top EPCs across the utility-scale sector is starting to shrink; the top companies accounted for 18% of the world’s operational solar capacity three years ago, but this has now fallen to 13%.
SOLV Energy is also the world’s leading operations and maintenance (O&M) contractor, with a mammoth 16.8GW of operating capacity in its portfolio, almost quadruple second-placed First Solar (4.6GW). US and European companies account for all of the top ten O&M firms, with German Enerparc and French Equans operating 269 and 238 projects, respectively, the top two in the world.
Among developers, another US company, NextEra Energy, leads the world, with 18.8GW of operational capacity. The company has added 7.4GW of capacity since the start of January 2024, and now ranks ahead of China’s State Power Investment (13.3GW) and Italy’s Enel (11.4GW).
Meanwhile, among owners, France-headquartered Engie leads the world in terms of utility-scale projects owned, with 347, adding 67 new projects since the start of January 2024, the most in the world. However, with just 11.1GW of capacity in operation, Engie ranks fourth in terms of project owners by operational capacity; State Power Investment leads the world in this area, with 16.4GW of capacity in operation, ahead of NextEra and Enel.
Wiki-Solar’s Philip Wolfe called the growth in utility-scale deployments in 2025 a “heroic achievement”, which is all the more impressive “since we topped 100GW only as recently as 2016”.
The positive news for the global solar sector follows a successful downstream quarter for the US industry in particular. The most recent figures from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) show that the US added 11.7GW of new capacity in the third quarter of this year, the third-most on record, despite ongoing policy challenges.
