India adds 24 GW, ranks second after China as record growth continues

Global solar installations are on track for another record year, with 380 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity added in the first six months of 2025. This marks a 64 per cent rise compared to the 232 GW installed in the same period of 2024. By June this year, global additions had already surpassed 350 GW, a milestone that was reached only in September last year, according to a report published by energy think tank Ember. 

India recorded the second highest installations worldwide, adding 24 GW in the first half of 2025. This represented a 49 per cent increase over the 16 GW added in the first half of 2024. The United States followed with 21 GW, up 4 per cent year-on-year. Germany and Brazil saw slight dips, while the rest of the world collectively added 65 GW, 22 per cent more than last year.

China continued to dominate, contributing 67 per cent of global installations. Its first-half additions more than doubled from the same period last year, driven in part by developers racing to complete projects before new compensation rules for wind and solar came into effect in June. China’s output in the first half of 2025 was more than double the rest of the world combined.

Outside China, all other countries together installed 124 GW in the first six months of 2025, 15 per cent higher than in the same period of 2024. Growth is also beginning to pick up in Africa, where solar panel imports from China rose 60 per cent in the past year, though official installation data remains scarce.