The silicon solar cell was invented in 1954. In the 1970s and 1980s, solar panels first started appearing on roofs. But even by the turn of the century, the total global capacity was below 5 GW. Over the next decade, European and Japanese programs drove early adoption and by 2010, the global total was about 40 GW. The next decade saw dramatic reductions in the cost of solar modules and a period of rapid growth ensued.
In 2022, the world crossed the 1-terawatt level – a thousand gigawatts of solar power, nearly the total generating capacity of the United States. It took 70 years for the world to reach that milestone. After reaching that level in 2022, the world added its second terawatt in 2024. This year the global total has reached 3 terawatts.
The first terawatt of solar power was mostly installed by wealthy nations that subsidized renewable energy. But now China has become the global leader, not only in using solar power but in producing inexpensive panels. It is responsible for more than half of all solar installations globally. Forecasts are that the world will hit 9 terawatts of solar power by 2036 and by then poor countries will have installed more solar power than rich countries.
The giant solar boom is driving a push to build more transmission lines to carry energy from where it is produced to where it is needed. The solar boom is also driving a major boom in battery energy storage capacity.
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