World installs 2TW solar PV, must double momentum to meet COP targets

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The GSC said global solar capacity is now equivalent to the entire electricity capacity of the US, UK and India combined. Image: Unsplash

The world has reached 2TW of installed solar PV capacity just two years after it reached the 1TW mark, according to data from the Global Solar Council (GSC).

The GSC said global solar capacity is now equivalent to the entire electricity capacity of the US, UK and India combined and twice the installed capacity of the EU. It pointed out that the first terawatt of solar capacity took 68 years from the first installation in 1954, while the second TW took two years.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Solar PV’s rapid growth and emergence as the dominant energy transition technology has been headline news from a number of global energy organisations for some time. An October 2023 report from the International Energy Agency said 65% of the globe’s solar capacity was added since 2018, and consultancy InfoLink forecast that the world would add 1TW of solar annually by 2030.

Sonia Dunlop, Global Solar Council CEO said: “The unprecedented roll-out of solar worldwide, and now the fact that we have made this 2 terawatt milestone, or about 7 billion solar panels installed, is the culmination of decades of hard work. Forward-thinking policy, industrial ingenuity, 7 million hard-working solar installers and a versatile and scalable technology have all brought us to this moment.”

However, she continued to say that solar must “double installation capacity to reach 1TW per year if we’re going to reach our global tripling renewables target”.

The global aim to triple renewable energy capacity was included in the final outcome of the COP28 conference in the UAE last year. Building on this, the GSC announced that it will launch the International Solar Finance Group at this year’s COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan next week.

Dunlop said to double yearly solar deployments “we need to unlock financing and bring down the cost of capital for solar projects, particularly in the Global South. If the cost of capital is now at 15%, we need to bring it down to 5% or less. This is what we will be working on at COP29 Baku.”

The International Solar Finance Group will aim to create “the world’s first ever dialogue between the solar PV industry and the finance sector”.

The BSC reiterated that it would seek to reduce the cost of capital from 15% to 5% for solar development in developing economies, in efforts to “channel solar financing where it’s needed most.”

Last month, Norway-headquartered climate consultancy DNV identified a shortage of funding into emerging economies, largely in the global south, as a central challenge facing the global energy transition. It said that developing economies face a “widening investment deficit” despite global clean energy spending reaching an all-time high. It cited sub-Saharan Africa as an area in particular need of greater investment, as the combination of a quickly growing population and a low GDP per capita will see energy-related CO2 emissions almost triple by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.

Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance said: “Overcoming bottlenecks and securing investor confidence is critical, especially in emerging markets. COP29 presents a key opportunity for governments to lead the renewables race, setting ambitious targets and clear actions in their climate plans and committing to a global push for the infrastructure—grids and storage—that will enable this massive scale-up.”

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again 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 in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
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.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 3, 2025
Spanish IPP Zelestra has secured a €235 million (US$277 million) increase to its sustainability-linked loan, bringing the total to €770 million.
July 3, 2025
US tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar has introduced the Genius Tracker TF, a new terrain-following solar tracker system designed to deliver “the industry’s lowest grading requirement on challenging terrain.” 
Premium
July 3, 2025
Meeting the UK’s solar targets will not simply require the installation of new capacity, but investment in grid infrastructure and training.
July 3, 2025
Malaysian engineering and infrastructure giant Gamuda has expanded its presence in the Australian renewables sector by partnering with Tasmanian landowners to build a 1.2GW portfolio, which includes solar PV.
Premium
July 2, 2025
ANALYSIS: China's leading PV manufacturers are locked in a new round of competition, aiming to outpace each other through record-breaking feats.
July 2, 2025
Indigenous-led renewable energy company Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC) has submitted plans for a hybrid wind and solar PV renewable energy project to the Australian government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK