OVERVIEW - Utility-scale solar passes 100-GW milestone

Solar farm. Author: Juwi Renewable Energies Limited.

The global installed capacity of utility-scale solar generating stations now exceeds 100 GW, according to figures released today by the experts on large scale PV, wiki-solar.org.

The milestone was apparently passed sometime during the first quarter of 2017, with the global total standing at over 101 GW by the end of March. Over 70 countries now have some utility-scale solar plants installed. The countries with over 1 GW are listed below, and account for almost 95 GW of the total.

Country	Capacity (MW AC)	Country	Capacity (MW AC)
China	39,336	France	1,867
US	19,930	Spain	1,837
India	11,219	Canada	1,629
UK	6,111	South Africa	1,392
Germany	4,016	Italy	1,228
Chile	2,781	Thailand	1,040
Japan	2,540

“It was continuing growth in the top markets of China, the US and India that took us through the 100 GW barrier,” says Wiki-Solar founder Philip Wolfe. “The early European powerhouses of Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK have slowed markedly.”

Other countries, however, are promising to increase their contribution in the future, according to Wiki-Solar’s data on projects under development. “Chile could move into the top five, as it fulfils its current pipeline,” says Wolfe. “And Japan and South Africa are working steadily through substantial project stockpiles. Lower down today’s league table, Mexico and Australia also have enough capacity under development to take them into the top ten.”

These results are based on data published by the end of March 2017. Wiki-Solar notes that the figures tend to creep further upwards as later information is published.

Wiki-Solar defines ‘utility-scale solar’ as 4 MW AC and above.

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