Global Solar Council announces 2 terawatt milestone achieved for solar

Industry association leads the worldwide solar sector in celebration of the landmark installation achievement for solar PV; prepares to launch a first-of-its-kind international solar finance group at COP29 in Baku next week to unlock financing for future projects.

November 8, London – The Global Solar Council leads the worldwide solar industry today in the celebration of achieving 2 TW of installed solar PV capacity against the backdrop of a Donald Trump presidency in the U.S. and a pivotal COP29 slated to begin next week in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The deployment of solar energy has exponentially accelerated in recent years, carrying with it dramatic cost reductions that make solar now the cheapest form of energy available to consumers in many countries across the globe.

2 terawatts of solar PV now installed

It took the solar PV industry 68 years to reach 1 TW of installed capacity - from 1954-2022. It has taken only 2 years to reach the next TW (2022-2024), with the 2 TW milestone reached in recent weeks according to estimates calculated by the Global Solar Council and SolarPower Europe.

The milestone highlights how solar energy is becoming the backbone of the global energy system. Notably, 2 TW of solar is equivalent to the total installed electricity capacity of India, the USA and UK combined and could power an estimated one billion homes, based on a global average household energy consumption of 3,500 kWh per year and a 20% capacity factor.

“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 a versatile and scalable technology have all brought us to this moment,” said Sonia Dunlop, Global Solar Council CEO. “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.”

To reach the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030 to keep the world on a 1.5C pathway, more financing needs to be unlocked for solar, especially in emerging and developing markets.

"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,” said Máté Heisz, Chair of the Global Solar Council, and Director of Global Affairs at SolarPower Europe. “We urgently need support from national governments and investors to deliver our tripling renewables target. It’s time to bring everyone aboard our clean energy transition journey.”

With annual installation figures now at approximately 500 GW and global manufacturing capacity already at 1.1 TW, the solar PV industry has proven it can deliver the technology, but financing remains a persistent obstacle to meeting the 1 TW-per-year ambition.

“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,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance. “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.”

International Solar Finance Group to launch in Baku

At COP29 (the ‘Finance COP’), the Global Solar Council will launch the International Solar Finance Group, creating the world’s first ever global dialogue between the solar PV industry and the finance sector to bridge the financial gap between ambition and deployment and to ensure that the world remains on track to meet its climate and sustainable development commitments.

The International Solar Finance Group’s inaugural session, set for November 15 in Baku, will lay out an ambitious agenda to develop innovative financial solutions and frameworks aimed at making solar investments more accessible and attractive, especially in emerging markets, by engaging both private sector investors and development banks.

The Global Solar Council’s ambition for the Group is to reduce the cost of capital for solar in developing economies from 15% to 5% to remove the financing barrier and boost deployment. The Group will be a first-of-its-kind platform for diverse solar finance stakeholders to connect, share knowledge, discuss challenges, and offer recommendations to drive real-world financing solutions to match ambition. It will also serve to drive actions aimed at channeling solar finance where it’s needed most.