Global solar power broke an annual installation record with the addition of 168 gigawatts (GW) last year to reach a total capacity of 940 GW at the end of the year, according to a report from SolarPower Europe on Tuesday.
SolarPower Europe's flagship Global Market Outlook for Solar Power report launched at the Intersolar Europe Conference and Fair in Munich forecasts that global solar will continue the decade-long record-breaking streak, installing more than 200 GW of solar for the first time.
The report reveals that solar power worldwide will enter a new terawatt age by May this year.
The report shows that despite the unprecedented pandemic, global solar capacity doubled in three years from 2018, bringing the world's solar fleet to 1 terawatt (TW) capacity in April 2022.
'The global solar market is growing exponentially. It took around a decade for worldwide solar capacity to reach 1 TW, from 100 GW in 2012. In just 3 years, SolarPower Europe predicts global solar to more than double to 2.3 TW in 2025,' the report said.
This 2.3 TW capacity represents twice the gross electricity production of France and Germany combined.
Commenting on the latest report, Aristotelis Chantavas, president of SolarPower Europe said that the world has entered its “solar terawatt age” and will hit the 2 TW mark within the next three years.
'Citizens, businesses, and governments around the world are recognizing the immense power of the sun to secure energy sovereignty, defend the climate, and provide relief from extreme energy prices. The European solar terawatt age is within reach, and possible with an ambitious and determined EU solar strategy,' Chantavas said.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said that solar energy installation in Europe could reach 39 GW this year to replace 4.57 billion cubic meters of Russian gas.
'The real acceleration will be done in the medium term, with upwards of 100 GW of annual installations by 2025 paving the way to 1 TW of solar by 2030,' she added.
By Gulsen Cagatay in Munich, Germany
Anadolu Agency
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