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According to the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme, worldwide solar capacity additions totaled roughly 690 GW during 2025. The IEA-PVPS Trends in Photovoltaic Applications 2026 report shows that these additions marked a 15% rise over the volume installed in 2024.
Cumulative installed solar capacity had reached 2.96 TW by the close of last year. According to the report, this installed base could in theory produce approximately 3,845 TWh each year, which corresponds to about 12% of worldwide electricity use.
With 415 GW, China represented 60% of worldwide installations last year. For yearly additions, India came in second at 54 GW, with the United States third at 43 GW, Germany fourth at 18 GW and Pakistan fifth at 14 GW. The European Union as a whole added 68 GW.
The report observes that PV deployment kept expanding geographically, as 36 nations installed over 1 GW of solar, up by three compared with 2024.
Centralised solar systems made up 410 GW of the new solar systems last year, with China leading at 256 GW, followed by India at 42 GW, the USA at 35 GW, Spain at 11 GW and Germany at 8.3 GW. The report further points to Saudi Arabia and the UAE as expanding markets propelled by centralised systems.
Distributed solar represented 282 GW of new installations in 2025, a record for that market segment, rising from 228 GW in 2024.
China installed 159 GW of all distributed solar last year, with Pakistan next at 14 GW, then India at 12 GW, Germany at 9.2 GW and Brazil at 7.9 GW. France, Turkiye, Japan and Australia are listed in the report as additional countries where the distributed market is fueling overall growth.
Last year Australia overtook the Netherlands as the nation with the greatest cumulative installed PV capacity per inhabitant, registering 1,604 W per capita against 1,584 W per capita. Germany holds third place on this measure at 1,413 W per capita.
Eight more European countries — Spain, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland and Belgium — exceed 1,000 W per capita. China’s penetration rate also crossed this threshold, reaching 1,040 W per capita.
In the report’s forward, IEA-PVPS Task 1 co-managers Melodie de l’Epine and Izumi Kaizuka, together with IEA-PVPS chair Daniel Mugnier, wrote that last year’s deployments proceeded alongside significant industrial imbalance. They clarified that module production stays above annual installation figures, while low utilisation rates, ongoing price pressure and weak profitability affect manufacturers across the value chain.
Report figures indicate that worldwide production of solar modules reached 722 GW last year, down 0.6% from 2024. This marks a deceleration from the 61.7% year-on-year growth logged between 2022 and 2023.
China was responsible for 79% of global PV module production last year. Its worldwide share fell from 86% in 2024 as manufacturing capacity grew in India and the USA.
Global PV module manufacturing capacity is estimated to have hit 1,531 GW per year last year, with 71% of that located in China.
De l’Epine, Kaizuka and Mugnier further stated that the scale of solar deployment is altering the relationship among solar capacity, electricity systems and electricity markets. They observed that curtailment, negative prices, declining capture prices and grid connection constraints are appearing more frequently in high penetration markets, and that storage, flexible demand, stronger networks, improved forecasting and suitable market access are becoming vital to extending PV’s contribution beyond the hours in which it generates.
Further figures from the report underscore substantial growth in storage deployment. Annual battery energy storage capacity additions across Europe, Canada and the US combined have risen from 2.9 GWh in 2020 to nearly 79 GWh in 2025, amounting to a more than 25-fold increase.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
Report Scope and Analytical Framing
Concise View of Market Direction
Market Size, Growth and Scenario Framing
Commercial and Technical Scope
How the Market Splits Into Decision-Relevant Buckets
Where Demand Comes From and How It Behaves
Supply Footprint, Trade and Value Capture
Trade Flows and External Dependence
Price Formation and Revenue Logic
Who Wins and Why
Where Growth and Supply Concentrate
Commercial Entry and Scaling Priorities
Where the Best Expansion Logic Sits
Leading Players and Strategic Archetypes
Detailed View of the Most Important National Markets
How the Report Was Built
Largest solar manufacturer globally
Leading monocrystalline silicon producer
Major module and cell producer
High-efficiency cell and module maker
Global manufacturer and project developer
Major player in US and EU markets
Integrated PV product manufacturer
Leading thin-film CdTe manufacturer
World's largest solar cell producer
ABC cell technology leader
Major LED component and display maker
Pioneer and major supplier of LED chips
Historically leading innovator in LED technology
Leading European optoelectronics supplier
High-power LED and automotive lighting
One of world's largest LED chip producers
Major LED packaging and component supplier
Leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer
Innovator in WICOP and SunLike technologies
LED components for automotive and IT
IBC cell technology leader
Solar project developer and manufacturer
Integrated PV manufacturer
Historically significant in both fields
Rapidly growing cell and module producer
Solar manufacturing arm of Chint Group
Module manufacturer with US focus
Leading Indian solar manufacturer
LED packaging and lighting solutions
Major LED packaging company
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