Global Utility-Scale Solar Surpasses 1 TW As Competition Among Top EPCs Intensifies

Worldwide utility-scale solar power has reached a major milestone by surpassing 1 terawatt (1,000 gigawatts) of installed capacity in the second half of 2025, according to industry tracker Wiki-Solar. Experts describe this achievement as remarkable, noting how quickly the sector has expanded. Wiki-Solar’s Philip Wolfe highlighted that the world was only at 100 GW in 2016, showing that global capacity has doubled roughly every three years. This reflects a strong compound growth rate of more than 25% and demonstrates how rapidly solar energy has become a major part of the global power system.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies have played a significant role in driving this progress. The latest report shows that the top 36 EPC firms are responsible for 131 GWac of operating utility-scale solar plants, with almost one-third of this capacity commissioned since early 2024. However, competition is increasing. While these top companies contributed 18% of the world’s total capacity three years ago, their share has now fallen to 13%, indicating a more diverse and competitive market.

American, Chinese, and Indian EPC companies continue to dominate the rankings, although Europe still holds 16 positions in the top 36. USA-based firms SOLV and McCarthy remain at the top, while Asian companies have shown major gains. Larsen & Toubro, Sterling & Wilson, China Machinery Engineering, Tata, and China Power Construction have all risen strongly, with the last two climbing 16 and 19 positions. Spain’s FCC is another fast-advancing name, jumping 14 places.

Wiki-Solar measures capacity by MWac delivered to the grid for systems larger than 4 MWac. If measured by DC capacity (MWp), the figures would be about 25% higher. Many of the leading operations and maintenance companies are also part of this group of top EPCs, reflecting their deep involvement across the full project lifecycle.

This milestone highlights the continuing acceleration of solar deployment worldwide and the increasingly competitive landscape shaping the future of clean energy.