The IEA said that the world deployed 420GW of solar PV capacity in 2023, a vast 85% increase from the 228GW installed in 2022. Image: BMR Energy

According to recent reports released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) this week, solar PV installations surged by 85% year-on-year in 2023, surpassing all other renewable technologies. This growth occurred during a year when clean energy deployments played a crucial role in mitigating the increase in carbon emissions.

The Clean Energy Market Monitor and CO2 Emissions Report collectively indicate that although global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions hit unprecedented levels in 2023, the rapid expansion of renewable energy installations, particularly driven by solar PV, significantly mitigated the growth of harmful emissions.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a remarkable surge in global solar PV capacity deployment in 2023, with installations reaching 420GW. This represents an impressive 85% increase compared to the 228GW installed in 2022. China led the pack by deploying 261GW of this new capacity, followed by the European Union with 53GW, the US with 32GW, and India with 12GW. With the exception of India, all these regions experienced substantial year-on-year growth in their capacity additions. Once again, China outpaced all other markets, experiencing a remarkable 261% increase from 100GW in 2022 to 261GW in 2023.

India’s decrease in solar PV capacity deployment in 2023 can be attributed to a reduction in government auction volumes for solar PV capacity in previous years, resulting in lower deployment figures for the year.

The significant increase in solar PV deployments in 2023 was partly facilitated by the sharp decrease in solar module prices, primarily influenced by Chinese manufacturers. The data from the IEA acts as a reminder that while much attention has been given to the difficulties these price drops pose for manufacturers, as highlighted in PV Tech Premium’s recent interview with top producer JinkoSolar, the declining prices actually benefit the global expansion of renewable energy.

The impressive deployment numbers add to an IEA report released in January, which stated that electricity generation from low-carbon sources (including solar, wind, nuclear, and hydro power) would be capable of meeting all electricity demand growth until 2026.

According to the IEA, the total deployments in 2023 also included 117GW of wind power, 5.5GW of nuclear power, and 108GW of heat pump sales.

In January, a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) revealed that $1.8 trillion was invested in renewable energy generation and storage in 2023. While this increase is positive, it falls short of meeting net zero targets. In contrast, the report indicated that investment in solar manufacturing capacity had surpassed the required levels for all capacity additions up to 2030.

Carbon emissions

According to the IEA’s CO2 report, global carbon emissions increased by 1.1% in 2023, reaching a record high. While this development is worrying in the context of combating climate change, the percentage increase in emissions is lower than in 2022 (1.3%). The IEA highlighted that without the expansion of renewable deployments, this increase would have been much more substantial, as the world would have had to depend more on fossil fuels.

The IEA’s data includes a significant caveat: widespread droughts in China, the US, and various other regions led to a sharp decline in hydropower generation during 2023. The lack of anticipated hydropower capacity contributed to over 40% of the increase in emissions, as governments resorted to fossil fuels to compensate for the shortfall that could have been met by low-emission technologies.

If the droughts had not occurred, the IEA stated that global emissions from electricity generation would have decreased, resulting in a substantial reduction in the overall increase of emissions.

According to the IEA, the growth rate of renewable energy capacity has surpassed that of fossil fuels by more than double since 2019. A recent report by BNEF forecasted that this trend would persist in 2024, especially for solar PV. The analyst firm projected that by the end of this year, there could be 655GWdc of new solar capacity installed globally.