Solar has continued its remarkable growth across the world in the first half of 2025, with China leading the way as global installations surge 64 per cent to reach 380 gigawatts.
“These latest numbers on solar deployment in 2025 defy gravity,” says Nicolas Fulghum, a senior analyst with Ember, which compiled the data.
“In a world of volatile energy markets, solar offers domestically produced power that can be rolled out at record speed to meet growing demand, independent of global fossil fuel supply chains.”
The Ember data makes clear that China is the dominant factor here, installing twice as much as the rest of the world combined, or 256 GW. But solar installations in the rest of the world also increased 15 per cent over the same period last year to 124 GW.
Ember says the China surge was spurred in part by developers racing to complete projects before new rules on wind and solar compensation came into effect in June this year. This may lead to a slowdown in growth in the second half, but it expects to 2025 installations to beat the record installations of 2024.
Ember says India recorded the second highest installations with 24 GW, a 49 per cent increase over the first half of 2024, while the United States ranked third with 21 GW, a rise of 4 per cent, despite recent moves by the US government to restrict clean power deployment which may affect its rollout in the next 18 months.
Deployment dipped slightly in Germany and Brazil. The remaining countries added 65 GW in the first half of 2025, which is 22 per cent more than in H1-2024.
Interestingly, growth in Africa is also beginning to take-off, as the amount of solar panels it imported from China rose 60 per cent in the last 12 months, although data on actual installations and deployment remains unclear.
“2025 is on track to become another historic year for solar power,” Ember says. “The numbers highlight not only solar’s momentum, but also its pivotal role in reshaping the global energy system.”
