The Global Solar Council is leading a global celebration today, marking a massive milestone of 2 terawatts of installed solar power capacity. This achievement comes during a unique time, as the world watches Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency and prepares for the crucial COP29 climate summit next week in Baku, Azerbaijan. Solar energy has surged rapidly in recent years, with costs dropping so much that solar is now the most affordable energy source for consumers in many parts of the world.
The solar industry took 68 years to reach its first terawatt of installed capacity (from 1954 to 2022). Amazingly, it only took two more years to double that, hitting 2 terawatts in 2024, as estimated by the Global Solar Council and SolarPower Europe. This milestone shows that solar is quickly becoming the backbone of the global energy system. With 2 terawatts of capacity, the world now has as much solar energy as the combined electricity capacity of India, the USA, and the UK. This could power around one billion homes worldwide, based on average energy use.
Sonia Dunlop, Global Solar Council CEO, said in a statement, “The unprecedented roll-out of solar worldwide, and now the fact that we have made this 2 terawatt milestone, or about 7 billion solar panels installed, is the culmination of decades of hard work. Forward-thinking policy, industrial ingenuity, 7 million hard-working solar installers and versatile and scalable technology have all brought us to this moment.”
He further added, “But as we pause to recognize the achievement, it’s only for a minute. Solar must now double installation capacity to reach 1 terawatt per year if we’re going to reach our global tripling renewables target. We need to celebrate the 25 million solar homes and now double it. To get there we need to unlock financing and bring down the cost of capital for solar projects, particularly in the Global South. If the cost of capital is now at 15%, we need to bring it down to 5% or less. This is what we will be working on at COP29 Baku.”
Máté Heisz, Chair of the Global Solar Council, and Director of Global Affairs at SolarPower Europe, mentioned, “By 2030, solar will be the world’s leading renewable energy source, contributing the lion’s share of the global renewables revolution. The future of solar hinges on equitable global access to financing; we must ensure that everyone – especially in the Global South – can join this movement. We urgently need support from national governments and investors to deliver our triple renewables target. It’s time to bring everyone aboard our clean energy transition journey.”
To meet the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and keep the world on track for a 1.5°C future, more investment in solar energy is needed. This is especially important for emerging and developing markets, where solar potential is growing rapidly.
Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance, commented, “Achieving 2 terawatts of installed solar capacity is a historic milestone—while it took 68 years to reach the first terawatt, the next was achieved in just two. This rapid acceleration underscores solar’s vital role within the broader renewable energy mix. But to truly meet the goal of tripling renewables by 2030, we must scale up all renewable technologies in unison.
“Overcoming bottlenecks and securing investor confidence is critical, especially in emerging markets. COP29 presents a key opportunity for governments to lead the renewables race, setting ambitious targets and clear actions in their climate plans and committing to a global push for the infrastructure—grids and storage—that will enable this massive scale-up,” he stated.
The solar industry is now installing about 500 gigawatts of capacity each year, and with global manufacturing reaching 1.1 terawatts, it’s clear that the technology is available. However, the biggest challenge still remains securing enough funding to meet the goal of installing 1 terawatt of solar every year.
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