Global annual PV installations snapshot

At the end of 2019, global PV installations reached 627 GWDC, an annual increase of 115 GWDC from 2018. – In 2019, the leading markets in terms of annual deployment were China (30 GWDC), the United States (13 GWDC), and India (10 GWDC). • Before the spread of COVID-19, analysts had projected that global PV demand would grow 14%–22% from 2019 to 2020—now they expect demand to remain flat in 2020. • The IEA estimates that in 2019, 3% of global electricity generation came from PV. – Germany, Japan, and India’s PV generation was between 8%–9% of total electric generation.

• From 2010–2019, global PV capacity additions grew from 17 GW to 115 GW. • European markets led in the beginning of the decade, but PV growth transitioned to Asia. – At the end of 2019, 57% of cumulative PV installations were in Asia compared to 22% in Europe and 15% in the Americas. – The United States is the country with the second largest cumulative installed PV capacity. – There has also been a recent surge of ROW installations, indicating the “globalization” of PV.

• At the end of 2019, global PV installations reached 627 GWDC, an annual increase of 115 GWDC from 2018. • The leading five markets in cumulative and annual PV installations at the end of 2019 were China, the United States, Japan, Germany, and India. • While China is still by far the largest PV market, its 2019 share of global PV installations (26%) was at its lowest since 2012. • In 2019, the United States was the country with the second-largest PV market in terms of both cumulative and annual installations.

Source: NREL Annual report