The year 2020 was a record-setting year for the solar industry, and it won’t be the last. The fourth quarter exceeded the prior quarterly record set in Q4 2016 by 22%, with just over 8 gigawatts-direct current (GWdc) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity installed. The year ended with a total of 19.2 GWdc installed, an astonishing 43% more than capacity added in 2019 – all in the midst of a global pandemic.
In this 2020 Year in Review report, Wood Mackenzie has released 10-year outlooks for the first time. We expect a cumulative 324 GWdc of solar capacity additions over the next decade, more than three times greater than what has been installed through 2020. This growth will be spread across all market segments as distributed solar customers, utilities, states, and corporations push to decarbonize the grid.
