Global Solar Installations Up 64 Percent So Far This Year

China accounted for most of the growth, installing more than twice as much solar in the first half of this year as it did in early 2024. The U.S., by comparison, saw solar installations rise by just 4 percent.

Through its exports of low-cost solar panels, China also drove growth in India and across much of Africa, the analysis found. Over the last 12 months, solar exports to the African continent rose by 60 percent, according to Ember. Fulghum said that for countries contending with a volatile fossil fuel market, solar has become an attractive option.

This year China has added twice as much solar capacity as the rest of the world combined, the analysis found, though the country is now at a crossroads. For the first time in China, solar isn’t just supplementing coal power, but replacing it.