Solar Panel Statistician

Each quarter, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducts the Quarterly Solar Industry Update, a presentation of technical trends within the solar industry.

Join today! Solar has seen massive growth since 2000. There are now over 219 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed nationwide, enough to power over 37 million homes. In the last decade, solar deployments have experienced an average annual growth rate of 26%.

Strong federal policies like the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), rapidly declining installation costs, and increasing demand for clean electricity across the private and public sector have driven this growth. As of 2023, nearly 280,000 Americans work in solar at more than 10,000 companies in every U.S. state.

In that same year, solar energy accounted for 45 percent of new electricity-generating capacity additions in the North American country. Of the total solar capacity installed in the U.S., over 20 percent corresponds to residential installations. This segment has grown in recent years, reaching some 3.6 million installations in 2022.

Over 30 GW have been installed through Q3 of 2024, as solar has become the dominant technology for new capacity in the U.S. Installations are expected to hold steady around 40-45 GW annually over the next five years.

IEA reported that in 2023, 407–446 GWdc of PV was installed globally, bringing cumulative PV installs to 1.6 TWdc. China continues to dominate the global market, representing ~60% of 2023 installs, up 120% y/y. The rest of the world was up 30% y/y. The U.S. was the second-largest market in terms of cumulative and annual installations.