SolarPower Europe has released its Global PV Market Outlook 2026–2030. In 2025, newly installed solar capacity worldwide reached an all-time high of 664 GW. China led the global market with 382 GW, accounting for 57% of global additions, while India moved up to the world’s second-largest PV market. The report forecasts a year-on-year drop of 8% in new PV installations to 612 GW in 2026 – the first market contraction in over two decades. While the sector faces a period of rational rebalancing in the short run, solar-plus-storage integration delivers substantial value, and long-term growth remains intact. Under the central scenario, cumulative global PV capacity could reach 6.6 TW by 2030.

SolarPower Europe recently unveiled its flagship publication, Global PV Market Outlook 2026–2030. Data from the report shows that global new solar PV capacity stood at 664 GW in 2025, marking a new historic peak with a 12% year-on-year increase.

Solar power remained the primary driver of renewable energy expansion in 2025, capturing 77% of all newly commissioned renewable capacity globally. Annual solar power generation hit 2,778 TWh, covering roughly 9% of the world’s electricity demand. At the start of 2026, cumulative global solar PV capacity surpassed the 3 TW milestone, tripling its installed base within just four years.

Regional PV Performance in 2025

China added 382 GW of new solar capacity, representing 57% of the global total.

India overtook the United States to become the second-largest PV market globally, registering 45.7 GW of new installations, a 49% year-on-year jump.

The EU 27 recorded 67.2 GW of new PV capacity, a mild 1% annual rise, reflecting steady and mature market development.

While 2025 delivered an unprecedented 664 GW of new solar capacity, growth momentum across the industry is slowing after years of rapid expansion, pushing the market into a phase of rational adjustment. Based on the central forecast scenario, after successive years of growth, global new PV deployments are projected to fall by 8% year-on-year to 612 GW in 2026, marking the first decline in new solar additions in more than 20 years.

Sonia Dunlop, Chief Executive of the Global Solar Council, commented that solar-plus-storage projects delivered remarkable operational results across key markets including India, France and Saudi Arabia in 2025. Report figures confirm that integrated solar and storage solutions carry irreplaceable strategic value amid ongoing global geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Despite policy revisions in several major mature markets, the fundamental long-term growth trajectory for solar remains robust, with total global PV capacity expected to double by 2030.

The report sets out medium and long-term projections for the solar sector:

Under the central scenario, annual global new PV capacity additions will rise to 864 GW by 2030, lifting cumulative worldwide solar capacity to 6.6 TW.

In an optimistic high-growth scenario, total installed PV capacity could reach as high as 7.6 TW by the end of the decade.

In the near-term energy transition roadmap, solar PV will continue to act as the backbone of global decarbonisation, supplying 60% of all new renewable capacity required to meet international 2030 energy transition targets.