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What gets built, and how fast?
The Build-out
Solar became the world's largest source of new capacity in the 2020s: 2 391 GW stood at the end of 2025, 11 times the fleet of 2015 (Ember). Where it went, how fast, and how much of the time it runs.
Ask about this section
- How does Europe's solar build-out compare with China's?
- Why does the same solar panel run more of the year in Spain than in Germany?
- What does a year-end capacity figure leave out?
Renewable Capacity measured
Year-end installed capacity by technology for every country since 2000, and the same technology for the world, the EU, China, the United States and India.
How much solar and wind capacity does Germany have, and how fast is it growing? →2 391 GW in 2025solar installed worldwide at year-end (Ember)
Capacity Factor estimate
How much of the year each technology's fleet produced at full output, per country since 2000: the year's generation divided by the year-end fleet running flat out, a lower bound.
What is a capacity factor, and why is solar's so low? →10% in 2025of the year at full output, Germany's solar fleet, a lower bound (Ember)
A lower bound: the year-end fleet counts capacity that ran for only part of the year. Method: Implied capacity factor.