Ranking: 2022 global TOP 10 solar energy market!

According to the latest SOLARPOWER report, among the top ten solar energy markets in the world in 2022, although the ranking has changed slightly due to changes in growth dynamics, and some newcomers have also changed, most of them still maintain their positions from the previous year.

First, we see that the record PV installations in 2022 are driven by the excellence of China, the undisputed world-leading solar market, adding nearly 100 GW in a single year, an annual growth rate of up to 72%.

The United States endured a tumultuous year in 2022, but still achieved 21.9 GW, maintaining its position as the second-largest market. India will continue to rebound in 2022, with 17.4 GW of new installed capacity, an increase of 23%, ranking third.

Ranked fourth is Brazil, which doubled its installed capacity to 10.9 GW, double the 5.5 GW in 2021, and is currently the only representative of Latin America in the TOP 10 market. Brazil enjoyed a very attractive net metering scheme until late last year, which sparked a wave of installations in 2022 by consumers looking for more beneficial options, but the rules have changed for projects built after 2023, including new Grid connection fee.

Spain became the largest European market with 8.4 GW, overtaking Germany to take fifth place. Compared to the previous year's 4.8 GW, Spain's PV installations have grown significantly by 76%. The majority of installations remains its strong PPA-driven utility-scale sector, which does not rely on subsidies of any kind, making Spain one of the largest subsidy-free solar markets globally.

This trend is expected to continue as Spain simplifies environmental permits for more than 25 GW of solar PV projects in early 2023.

Looking at Germany, which ranks sixth, the installed capacity of photovoltaics will be 7.4 GW in 2022, compared with 6 GW in 2021. Germany's solar industry is largely based on rooftop installations, which is supported by reliable feed-in tariff schemes and regular tenders for systems above 750 kW. The German government has set ambitious targets for renewable energy to account for 80% of total electricity generation by 2030 and 100% by 2035, with solar PV generating 215 GW by 2030.

In addition, countries that have entered the top ten markets in the world include Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, and Australia. The steady development of Japan's solar market has affected its ranking, dropping from 4th in 2021 to 7th in 2022. In 2022, 6.5 GW will be installed in the country.

Another market to watch is Poland, which just broke into the top 10 last year but is still growing, moving up two places to eighth. In 2022, the country installed 4.5 GW of solar power, a 20% increase compared to the previous year.

The Netherlands, which has been a key market in European competition for many years, breaks into the global top 10 for the first time in 2022 with a ninth-place finish. In 2022, the country will have an installed capacity of 4.1 GW, up 13% year-on-year from 3.6 GW in 2021.

Australia, like Japan, has regressed. The Australian market is a step behind in 2022, with 4 GW of PV installed, a 34% drop from 2021's record 6 GW.

At a regional level, China's dominance boosted Asia Pacific's share to 60%, while Europe held steady at 19% and the Americas declined to 17%.