In 2023, 80% of the world's installed PV system capacity is concentrated in the top ten markets. According to the order of installed PV system capacity in 2023, these 10 markets are China, the United States, Brazil, Germany, India, Spain, Japan, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands. China installed 253GW of PV systems last year, accounting for 57% of the world's total installed capacity. The United States also installed 32.4GW of new PV system capacity.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the demand in the private photovoltaic sector in Europe has increased significantly, especially due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The installed capacity of small-scale PV systems installed in Europe has risen from 7GW in 2021 to 12GW in 2022, and finally reached 18GW in 2023. This figure shows that the European photovoltaic industry is developing rapidly and the market is active. Local companies have also been exploring new strategies to gain market share, such as flexible financing options, energy management solutions and dynamic tariffs to provide returns for portfolios of PV systems, energy storage systems, wall boxes and heat pumps.
According to the analysis of the annual report "Global Photovoltaic Market Outlook 2024-2028" recently released by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (SolarPower Europe), the global installed capacity of new PV systems in 2023 is 447GW, while the installed capacity of PV systems in 2022 is 239GW, an increase of 87% year-on-year. This growth rate has been unprecedented since 2010, when the global installed capacity of PV systems was only 4% of the current level.
The report predicts that the global cumulative installed capacity of PV systems will reach 2TW this year, after the cumulative installed capacity of PV systems reached 1TW in 2022. By the end of 2023, the global cumulative installed capacity of PV systems will be 1.6TW. Despite the challenges of high interest rates and grid connection, the report still predicts that 1TW of PV systems will be installed annually by 2028.
However, while there are now 31 countries in the world with an installed capacity of PV systems of more than 1 GW per year, an increase from 28 countries in 2022, there are almost no emerging countries on this list. Therefore, global PV growth may slow down in the coming years.
