Jakarta—Solar power development hit another record high in 2024, adding 474 TWh of capacity to a new high of 2,131 TWh, representing an increase of 29%. The share of solar in the global electricity mix reached 6.9%, up from 5.6% in 2023, according to a new report by global energy think tank Ember released on Wednesday, April 9.
The increase of 474 TWh was 45% higher than in 2023 (+327 TWh). The report said solar generated more than twice as much electricity in 2024 as any other electricity source.
Solar generation is now more than 20 times larger than in 2012, and its share of global generation over the same period has increased sixteenfold.
The report recorded that global solar power continues to double every three years, maintaining high growth rates even as it scales: 2024’s growth rate of 29% was the fastest in six years. Solar generation took eight years from 100 TWh to 1,000 TWh, but it has only taken three years to double to over 2,000 TWh in 2024.
China continues to be the country with the largest rise in solar generation, adding 250 TWh – more than half of the global change in generation (53%) in 2024 and four times more than the second largest increase in the United States (+64 TWh). This pushed up China’s solar generation by an astonishing 43% compared to 2023.
The US, Brazil, India and Germany also saw record increases in generation, driven by record capacity installations in 2023 and 2024.
Brazil has quickly become one of the world’s largest solar markets. Its 23 TWh (+45%) increase in solar generation in 2024 made it the country with the third-highest growth for the second year.
In absolute terms, China is the global leader in solar energy. Its total solar generation reached 834 TWh in 2024, greater than the global total just five years ago in 2019. Ember said 39% of the world’s solar generation came from China in 2024.
Just eight years ago, Brazil ranked 58th worldwide for solar generation. In 2024, it overtook Germany to become the fifth-largest solar generator despite Germany also seeing a record increase.
As of today, 42 countries now generate at least a tenth of their electricity from solar. Of the countries with more than 5 TWh of solar generation, Hungary became the country with the highest share of solar in the electricity mix at a quarter (25%), ahead of Chile (22%). Both countries’ solar shares were less than 2% in 2015.
Australia remained the country with the highest solar generation per capita at 1,866 kWh, over seven times the world average. (Roffie Kurniawan)
Banner photo: shutterstock
