Graph of the Day: China first to pass 3GW utility-scale solar

Cleantechnica

China has surpassed the 3 GW (3,000 MW) milestone for utility-scale solar power production capacity. It’s the first country to do so and is sitting pretty at the top of the utility-scale solar rankings.

Apart from that, keep in mind that Chinese homes and businesses are utilizing rooftop solar-power production systems, as well as solar thermal water heaters to reduce electricity usage by eliminating the need for electric water heaters.

utility scale solar rankings china leading

According to project tracker Wiki-Solar, worldwide utility-scale solar added 3.75 GW to electricity production capacity in the first half of 2013, and China contributed more than 1 GW (26%) of that. The world is now close to 15 GW of utility-scale solar power. As the table above shows, the top 5 countries for utility-scale solar (and their capacities) are:

  • China (3.137 GW)
  • Germany (2.896 GW)
  • US (2.895 GW)
  • India (1.19 GW)
  • Spain (1.151 GW)

This article first appeared on Cleantechnica. Reproduced with permission.

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