A new report from climate and energy think tank Ember shows that 593 GW of solar capacity is likely to be installed globally by the end of this year.
If these predictions are met, the world will have added 29% more capacity than the year before, despite global capacity growth rising 87% by 2023. Up to July this year, an estimated 292 GW of solar energy has been installed. in 2024.
For most countries in the world, including Britain, the amount of installed capacity added so far in 2024 is higher than the same period in 2023, with the UK adding around 1.1x the previous year’s capacity.
According to statistics released at the end of August by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Britain now has a total installed solar capacity of 17 GW, an increase of 7.5% (1.2 GW) since July 2023. In July 2024 there was 70 MW. of new solar capacity installed across Britain, the highest monthly total so far this year.
Although the majority of UK solar PV installations are small-scale domestic installations, these represent only 30% of the total installed solar capacity in Britain. By June 2024, 77% of new UK solar installations were domestic, adding 51 MW of solar capacity.
Ember’s analysis shows that Britain is showing modest growth in solar installations, with Britain seeing an 11% growth in installed capacity year-on-year, matching the German pace of growth of solar energy capacity.
Notably, many global solar installation forecasts by international analysts have been revised several times over the past eighteen months, as the number of solar installations repeatedly exceeds even the most optimistic forecasts. In fact, Ember’s estimated 593 GW of additional capacity based on the pace of this year’s expansions so far is nearly 200 GW higher than the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) forecasts in early 2024.
Solar energy capacity in Britain is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, with this year’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 6 (AR6) set to set new records for the solar industry. A total of 93 ground-mounted solar projects with a combined capacity of 3.3 GW have been awarded contracts under AR6.
