In the past three months, the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and BloombergNEF published preliminary data for the power sector in 2024. These data hammer the same powerful message: solar photovoltaic (PV) has become the new cornerstone of the global power sector. In all areas: electricity generation growth, installed capacity growth, and cost competitiveness, solar PV domination is now overwhelming. And solar PV takeover is accompanied by the timely meteoric rise of battery storage, which cumulative installed capacity likely overtook that of pumped hydro storage last year.
Electricity generation from solar PV increased by 30% in the world in 2024
According to the International Energy Agency, 2024 has been marked by a robust growth in global total electricity generation: 1,207 TWh (4%), owing to accelerating electrification of transportation and industry, rising use of air conditioning, and expanding data centers.
In this context, electricity generation from solar PV grew by a record 475 TWh (30%), the largest increase of all electricity generating technologies by far (Chart 1).
In 2024, the growth in electricity generation from solar PV alone surpassed that of all other renewable energy (RE) technologies combined. This is despite a substantial rebound in hydropower generation in China due to higher precipitation.
The growth in solar PV was also more than double that in fossils & other (i.e., essentially coal and gas), and almost five times more than that in nuclear power, which benefitted from less reactor outages in France.
“Fossils & Other” includes coal, gas, oil, non-renewable waste, and unspecified.
Source: International Energy Agency, Electricity 2025 (February 2025).
72% of new global total installed capacity came from solar PV in 2024
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, solar PV installed capacity increased by a massive 452 GW (alternating current “AC”) in 2024. This growth was 2.5 bigger than that of all other electricity generating technologies combined, among which mainly onshore wind and fossil fuels expanded (Chart 2). This breathtaking outcome demonstrates well the extraordinary pace and scale at which solar PV can be rolled out.
Chart 2: World – Installed Capacity Growth by Technology 2024-2023
“Other RE” includes offshore wind, bioenergy, geothermal, concentrated solar power, and marine.
Source: International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 (March 2025).
With the addition of 278.0 GW in 2024, China led the deployment of new solar PV capacity (Chart 3). The United States and India, followed with increases of 38.3 GW and 24.5 GW, respectively. Other dynamic countries included Brazil and Germany which each added slightly more than 15 GW.
In comparison, Japan performed rather poorly with a mere 2.5 GW of new solar PV capacity (n.b., BloombergNEF and RTS Corporation’s estimates are higher: around 3.5-4 GW), the lowest level since 2012.1 2 This was insufficient for Japan to rank among the top 10 countries in terms of capacity growth.
Chart 3: Top 10 Countries – Solar PV Installed Capacity Growth 2024-2023
Solar PV is the most competitive new technology with a generation cost of $36/MWh
According to BloombergNEF, the electricity generation cost of new solar PV reached a record low of $36/MWh in 2024, partly thanks to continuous improvements in manufacturing and partly thanks to supply overcapacity.
On the technological side, the efficiency of commercial solar modules further increased from 22.3% in 2023 to 22.7% in 2024.3 In the past ten years, the efficiency of solar modules was enhanced by 6.0 percentage points.
These developments made solar PV the world’s most cost-competitive new technology ahead of onshore wind (Chart 4).
The generation cost of solar PV is approximately half that of unabated coal and gas (i.e., combined-cycle gas turbine “CCGT”) power plants, and a quarter that of fossil power plants equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Finally, compared to solar PV, large-scale nuclear reactors and small modular reactors (SMR) are seven and twelve times more costly, respectively.
Chart 4: World – Electricity Generation Cost of New Power Plants by Technology 2024
In Japan, the cost competitiveness of solar PV is also remarkable. The electricity generation cost of new solar PV without battery storage is like that of existing coal power plants (Chart 5). And the electricity generation cost of new solar PV with battery storage is similar to that of existing CCGTs.
Yet, these achievements are not widely recognized. This regrettably penalizes the quality of the energy debate in society and the elaboration of ambitious RE policies.
Chart 5: Japan – Electricity Generation Cost of Power Plants by Technology 2024
Source: BloombergNEF, Levelized Cost of Electricity 2025 (February 2025) [subscription required].
The cost of battery storage decreased by 33% in 2024
In November 2024, BloombergNEF forecasted that global stationary energy storage capacity – primarily batteries, excluding pumped hydro – would skyrocket by 69 GW in 2024 and reach cumulative installed capacity of 159 GW (Chart 6). This significant increase means that battery would exceed pumped hydro as the world’s main storage solution on a power output basis.
Chart 6: World – Battery and Pumped Hydro Cumulative Installed Capacity 2020-2024
“Pumped hydro” from International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 (March 2025).
This would be a milestone for the integration of RE into power system operations, as battery storage is ideal to complement solar PV production profile and provide a reliable power supply.
As for leading countries in 2024, China was predicted to lead battery storage capacity additions with 36.1 GW (Chart 7). The United States was projected to come second with 12.9 GW and Germany third with 4.4 GW. Italy and Australia were foreseen to rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with each adding a little less than 2 GW. Japan was forecasted to be seventh with 0.9 GW.
Chart 7: Top 10 Countries – Battery Storage Installed Capacity Growth 2024-2023
The accelerated deployment of battery storage results from dramatic cost reductions owing to manufacturing improvements and supply overcapacity – just like solar PV. Both technologies are particularly well-suited for mass production enabling decisive economies of scale.
From 2023 to 2024, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for a typical utility-scale battery storage project (four-hour) fell from $155/MWh to $104/MWh, a 33% decrease (Chart 8). In the past ten years, the LCOE of battery storage has been divided by more than seven.
Chart 8: World – LCOE of Utility-Scale Battery Storage (four-hour) 2014-2024
The world entered the solar PV era. An era characterized by inexpensive and decarbonized electricity, holding the promise of an affordable and sustainable future. Moreover, the leap in battery storage makes it possible to manage solar PV predictable output fluctuations. Spreading these positive messages should contribute to reshaping conservative energy policymaking, like that of the Japanese government. In Japan, the potential to install solar PV on the rooftops of buildings and on farmlands is huge nationwide. Therefore, it is a fantastic opportunity to be seized.
- 1BloombergNEF, Global PV Market Outlook 2025 Q1 (February 2025) [subscription required].
- 2RTS Corporation, The annual global PV installed capacity in 2024 is expected to reach the 500 GW level, and Japan needs to make a turnaround for increasing its PV installed capacity – January 24, 2025 (accessed April 11, 2025).
- 3BloombergNEF, The More Solar Panels Change, the More They Stay the Same (March 2025) [subscription required].
