Solar capacity

Solar power starts to show up at scale

Solar power generating capacity grew by 73.3% in 2011, the fastest growth in our data (which goes back to 1996). Total capacity grew by 29.3 GW to reach 63.4 GW. Capacity has grown almost ten-fold over the past 5 years.

Solar PV Generation Capacity

Solar capacity growth in 2011 was dominated by two countries, Italy (9.3 GW added) and Germany (7.5 GW). Together they accounted for 57.1% of global capacity growth in 2011. Germany remains the leader for cumulative installed capacity (24.8 GW), and Italy (12.8 GW) has leapt into second place ahead of Japan (4.9 GW).

China, already the leading manufacturer of solar PV, has started to develop its domestic solar market, adding 2.2 GW in 2011. China completed a 200 MW solar PV plant, which was at the time the world’s largest solar PV plant.

Solar power generation enjoyed spectacular growth in 2011, with a record 86.3% increase. Its overall share of renewable power remains low (6.5%), but 2011 marked the arrival of solar power at scale, contributing 20% of the growth of renewable power in 2011.