Solar Power Industry

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly through photovoltaic panels or indirectly through concentrated solar power systems, and it has grown into a major global industry within a single generation. Solar supplied 9 percent of the world's electricity in 2025, up from 7 percent in 2024, and grid-connected solar capacity and output have roughly doubled every three years, with three-quarters of new global generation capacity now solar. China dominates the manufacturing side of the industry, producing 98 percent of the world's solar wafers, 92 percent of solar cells, and 85 percent of solar panels, and it accounted for more than 55 percent of global installed solar capacity in the first half of 2025. Alongside onshore wind, utility-scale solar is now the cheapest source of new electricity in most countries, with installations split between large utility-scale plants and rooftop systems, the latter accounting for almost half of all solar installed in 2022.