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Solar Installations Hit 664 GW in 2025 as Market Braces for 1st Decline in Decades, SolarPower Europe Says

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Global solar power installations reached a record 664 gigawatts in 2025, pushing global capacity beyond 3 terawatts, though growth is expected to slow amid mounting grid and integration challenges, SolarPower Europe said in a report on Monday.

SolarPower Europe, in its Global Solar Market Outlook 2026-2030 report, said new installations rose 12% from the previous year, with solar accounting for 77% of all renewable energy capacity added worldwide.

Solar generation reached 2.8 TWh in 2025, supplying about 9% of global electricity demand, while the total installed fleet surpassed 3 TW in early 2026, tripling in size within four years.

"The solar age is firmly established," said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe. However, Hemetsberger said that the industry's focus must shift from simply adding capacity to ensuring it can be effectively integrated into power systems.

Hemetsberger said deployment is constrained by system-integration challenges across a growing number of markets, including grid congestion, curtailment, and negative price signals.

China remained the dominant market, installing 382 GW in 2025, equivalent to 57% of global additions. India overtook the US to become the world's second-largest solar market after adding 45.7 GW, a 49% increase year-over-year.

The European Union installed 67.2 GW, registering modest 1% growth, SolarPower Europe said.

However, despite record additions, SolarPower Europe forecasts an 8% drop in global installations to 612 GW in 2026 under its medium scenario, marking the first contraction in over two decades.

The expected decline is largely driven by China, where installations are projected to fall 24% as policy changes outweigh continued growth elsewhere.

"The global solar market reached new heights in 2025, with record installations and important markets such as India, France, and Saudi Arabia making significant strides in solar-plus-storage adoption," said Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council.

Dunlop said that stable policy frameworks, faster permitting procedures, and grid modernization would be essential to sustain growth as the industry expands into new markets.

SolarPower Europe forecasts annual installations to rebound after 2026, reaching about 864 GW by 2030, with total global capacity reaching 6.6 TW. Under a more optimistic scenario, the report said cumulative capacity could climb to 7.6 TW.

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