Technology & Business2000–2024

Solar Power Capacity by Country

The solar race begins as a German and Japanese policy experiment, then turns into one of the fastest industrial scale-ups ever measured. China does not just pass the field; by the mid-2020s it installs more capacity than the rest of the top board combined.

Source: IRENA via Our World in Data Total on-grid and off-grid installed solar power capacity, in gigawatts. OWID data last updated July 2025 for 2000-2024. Updated 2026-07-05

Key moments