New analysis from Ember shows that solar panel installation has grown by 64% in 2025, Yale Environment 360 reported.
Ember Energy’s report looked at the first six months of 2025, determining that, across the globe, 380 gigawatts of new solar energy was installed. That is up from 232 gigawatts in the same period in 2024.
“These latest numbers on solar deployment in 2025 defy gravity,” said Ember’s senior analyst, Nicolas Fulghum, “with annual solar installations continuing their sharp rise.”
In 2024, solar set a six-year high for growth rate in energy generation. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, solar power was the fastest-growing electricity source in the U.S. from 2010 to 2020. And it doesn’t appear to have slowed down. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar accounted for 69% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in the first quarter of 2025.
However, the U.S. only accounted for a portion, in part due to federal rollbacks on commercial solar projects. China accounted for much of the global growth of solar.
As of 2024, China accounted for over 80% of the world’s solar manufacturing capacity, according to Yale Environment 360. Its investment in its own solar and also in exporting solar panels has helped global installation soar. In 12 months, China’s exports of solar panels to Africa rose by 60%, according to Ember.
Solar panels help create affordable energy that helps save money on energy bills, increasing home value, working year-round, and reducing the need for dirty fuels. Dirty fuels, such as oil and natural gas, contribute to warming global temperatures and an increase in climate-driven weather disasters.
Investment in solar also contributes greatly to global economies. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, renewable energy tech, such as solar, employs three times as many employees as traditional energy sources do. It is also a leading job creator in the U.S. Solar energy can also keep the price of energy down in the face of changing utility prices.
“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,” said Fulghum, per Ember.
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