Over 500 GW of solar power to be installed in 2024

China continues to lead the pack.

The world is on track to install 593 gigawatts (GW) of solar power this year, which is 29% more than what was installed last year, according to Ember.

In its latest analysis, Ember said solar “will likely add more GWs in 2024 than the entire global increase in coal power capacity since 2010 (540 GW).”

The estimated 593 GW is in line with forecasts made by Bloomberg New Energy Finance but is almost 200 GW higher than the International Energy Agency’s main case outlook released in January 2024, the report said.

Majority of the countries for which Ember is tracking monthly capacity data are showing a larger number of installations this year than the year before, the think tank said. 

In China, which has the largest fleet, solar additions for January-July 2024 were 28% higher than a year ago, whilst installations in India were 77% higher than last year.

Ember also said Beijing is on track to add 28% more solar capacity than in the previous year based on the pace of capacity additions. If this rate is sustained, it would lead to a total installed capacity of 334 GW, making up 56% of global capacity additions for 2024, the think tank noted.

“This rate of growth is only slightly below the rest of the world, meaning China’s share of global installations for 2024 is estimated to be similar to last year when it accounted for 57% of global installations,” Ember said.

Overall, the combined additions of China, the US, India, Germany, and Brazil are on track to make up 75% of global solar additions in 2024.

Other countries Ember tracked add a further five percent. The remaining 20%, meanwhile, were derived from analysis of Chinese solar PV exports that act as a proxy to indicate countries where significant installations may be taking place without being reported.