A vision becomes reality
Since the beginning of the solar energy era around the year 2000, photovoltaics have grown in a way that is unprecedented in energy history. No other energy source has ever been adopted so quickly on a global scale. Following the oil crisis of the 1970s, governments and researchers sought to harness solar radiation as a limitless alternative energy source for industrial use. Today, photovoltaics and solar thermal energy have firmly established themselves as clean, efficient energy generation technologies. According to a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), photovoltaics now dominate the annual increase in electricity generation capacity worldwide and are gaining an ever-increasing share of the local electricity mix. Solar energy is displacing fossil fuels due to lower costs and higher efficiency.
The unique selling point of solar energy is its decentralised applicability. Rather than a centrally organised energy system characterised by large fossil fuel and thermal power plants, the energy revolution driven by solar energy is taking place 'bottom-up': solar cells are mass-produced and continuously scaled up and standardised. According to Tim Meyer's book Strom (Electricity), the price of PV modules has fallen by over 90% in two years, a decline which is also being driven by ongoing technological improvements. Because PV is inexpensive and easy to use, private consumers also have access to it and can become energy producers on a very small scale. Today, photovoltaics is mainly used in the applications large-scale PV power plants and rooftop installations (in the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as in private homes and residential buildings).
Using renewable electricity to electrify the heating and transport sectors is both economically sensible and the preferred technical solution due to the cleanliness and efficiency of solar power. It is the only way to decarbonize the economy and society as a whole, and thus counteract climate change. Therefore, solar energy should not be viewed solely as a source of energy generation. Instead, the industry is moving towards offering systemic solutions that contribute to the storage and conversion of solar power for various sectors, the expansion of electric mobility, and the adaptation of energy infrastructure for electrification.
Wind and solar power have long since taken the lead in the expansion of new power sources, and there is no end in sight to the exponential growth of solar energy. According to the Global Solar Council, it took 68 years to install the first terawatt (TW) of solar power (from 1954 to 2022), but only two years to double that figure to two terawatts (from 2022 to 2024). According to market research institute GlobalData, cumulative PV capacity could rise to between 4.8 and 7 TW by 2030 (i.e. a factor of 2–3 compared to 2024). A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE found that the average annual growth rate of cumulative PV installations between 2014 and 2024 was around 27%. The rapid expansion of solar energy in China is driving global growth. According to a market study by the industry association SolarPower Europe, China accounted for 55% of the 597 Gigawatts (GW) added globally in 2024. A significant factor in the affordability of solar energy is the overproduction of solar modules, driven by China through the establishment of enormous, state-subsidised production capacities. According to an IEA estimate, global PV module capacity reached 728 GW in 2024.
Solar thermal energy is growing more slowly but steadily and will reach 560 GW thermal (GWth) in 2023, according to the industry association Solar Heat Europe.
Thanks to sharply lower costs, higher efficiency and a rapidly growing global manufacturing sector, solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity generation in many parts of the world. It is gaining ground not through subsidies, but through its competitive advantages in terms of cost. Its application is also of particular interest to countries in the so-called Global Sunbelt, which offer ideal conditions for solar energy use due to high levels of solar radiation. In many of these countries, developing an energy system based on low-cost solar energy as the dominant energy source would be highly advantageous due to increasing population growth and energy demand.