Top 5 Solar Energy Markets to Boom in 2025

Highlights :

  • Central and Eastern European countries are making it to the fastest growing solar markets list in 2025
  • While China is adding the biggest volumes of renewables, India is growing at the fastest rate among major economies, especially solar power
Top 5 Solar Energy Markets to Boom in 2025

The solar power industry is flourishing globally, but growth potential varies across regions due to diverse influencing factors. Some solar markets are poised to outperform others, driven by favourable conditions already present or anticipated in 2025.

The International Energy Agency forecasts that the global RE capacity will increase by over 5,520 GW during 2024-2030, about 2.6 times more than RE deployment between 2017 and 2023. Solar power, encompassing utility-scale and distributed solar PV, is set to more than triple, contributing approximately 80 percent of the total renewable electricity expansion. However, shifts in governments in some major RE powered countries may affect their future expansion in the sector, for example the US. 

Here are the top 5 solar markets projected to experience the highest growth rates in solar energy in 2025.

#1 China

China is the Renewable energy leader of the world and solar energy is the most important energy source that helped the country lead among its peers. The country installed approximately 216.9 GW of solar capacity in 2023, with projections indicating an addition of 165 GW in 2024 and another 170 GW in 2025. Government incentives and community solar projects are further facilitating b GW roader access and adoption of solar systems. As many as 15 provinces included solar expansion in their annual government agendas.

The Asian giant recently unveiled the Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Implementing the Renewable Energy Substitution Initiative, which aims to increase annual renewable energy consumption to 1 billion tons of standard coal equivalent (SCE) by 2025—a 30 percent jump from 2023 levels. As a result, China will continue to be in the list of major markets for solar growth in 2025.

China is also undertaking an ambitious renewable energy project known as the Solar Great Wall, which aims to generate enough electricity to meet all of Beijing’s needs by 2030. The Solar Great Wall is expected to generate a mammoth 100 GW of renewable power, helping it generate a potential output of 180 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), significantly more than Beijing’s current consumption of around 135 billion kWh per year. 

New upcoming projects include Saudi utility giant ACWA Power’s recent announcement of over 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar and wind energy projects in China. ACWA Power is targeting 1.3 GW of renewable energy capacity in China by the end of 2025 and acquiring up to 20 GW of clean power assets.

#2 India

India, like its neighbour, is poised to be a solar energy hotspot in 2025, driven by favourable policies. While China is adding the biggest volumes of renewables, India is growing at the fastest rate among major economies. With over 94 GW of capacity, solar leads the country’s push towards a 500 GW target by 2030. In 2025, India is forecasted to generate around 104 billion kWh of electricity from solar power, clocking a CAGR of about 7.5 percent, Statista reports. Large solar projects are expected with major developers riding the wave of optimism. 

 

The country’s total installed and pipeline solar projects combined stand at 261.15 GW, as on Nov 2024, reflecting a strong pipeline for future growth and expansion in the solar sector.

India installed 10 GW of solar capacity in 2023. ICRA expects the country to add 26 GW RE capacity by the end of FY25, and additional 32 GW by the end of FY26, mostly driven by the solar power segment. NTPC recently concluded an auction for 1.2 GW of wind-solar hybrid capacity at an average price of INR 3.43 (USD 0.040)/kWh. Several big players like Adani Green Energy, ReNew, JSW, Tata Power, and Avaada, are poised to achieve 10 GW and beyond of renewable energy capacity by around 2025. Adani, for instance, is constructing around 10.5 GW of solar capacity, in addition to its operational capacity of approximately 7.4 GW.

The domestic solar manufacturing industry is set to gain momentum, supported by the government’s decision to include solar cells in the ALMM list from June 1, 2026. Premier Energies has secured orders worth INR 4,000 crore, while Waaree Energies plans to boost its manufacturing capacity from 13 GW to 21 GW by FY27. Tata Power is also expanding, with a solar EPC order book worth INR 15,900 crore and plans to scale up module production.

India’s largest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, is set to commission its first solar PV manufacturing tranche by the end of 2024-25 (FY25), with plans to scale up to 20 gigawatts by calendar year 2026 (CY26). Similarly, the Adani Group aims to expand its solar manufacturing capacity to 10 gigawatts by 2027.

#3 Germany

Germany continues to lead Europe in solar energy adoption, driven by innovative technologies and strong government support for renewable energy initiatives. The country deployed about 14.28 GW of new PV systems in 2023, expected to have added about 17 GW in 2024, and is projected to add around 20 GW in 2025.

Solar electricity generation in Germany is expected to surpass 71 billion kWh in 2025, positioning it as one of the largest solar energy markets globally. The country is projected to clock an annual growth rate of 6.29 percent, from 2025 to 2029. The year 2025 is expected to build up the country’s strong position in the solar sector. 

According to Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act program, the cumulative solar installation target is 128 GW by the end of  2026, 172 GW by 2028, and 215 GW by 2030. Notably, total installed solar capacity of the nation soared to a record 14.2 GW in 2023, up by over 90 percent from the previous year.

Recently, Europe’s largest solar power plant with 650 MW of capacity was officially inaugurated at Witznitz near Leipzig in eastern Germany. 

#4 Brazil

Brazil is the leader of renewable energy in the Latin American region, thanks to a strong Hydropower base, The country recently joined the likes of China, the United States, Germany, India, and Japan, as its installed solar capacity surpassed the 50 GW milestone. Moreover, solar power already accounts for over 20 percent of Brazil’s total power capacity, making it the country’s second-largest energy source. Notably, the fact that over 95 percent of total energy capacity addition came from renewable sources in 2024, 2025 seems to be a bright year for the RE industry, especially for solar power. 

Between January and October 2024, Brazil added 13 GW of new PV capacity, placing it among the top-performing countries globally, and it may have closed 2024 with over 15 GW new solar installation. Under optimistic scenarios, the solar energy market of Brazil is projected to reach over 46 billion kWh in 2025, growing at a CAGR of roughly 20 percent for the next five years starting 2025. Going by that rate, it may end the year 2025 adding 18 GW of new solar capacity.

The major challenge for a prosperous growth of solar in the new year will be the recent imposition of 25 percent tariffs on solar module imports. Developers claim that over 25 GW of solar projects are at risk of being canceled by 2026. 

#5 Central & Eastern European Markets

While the solar leaders in Europe are Germany, Spain, and Italy, the Eastern/Central European countries are  emerging as key players and are poised to become the most important solar markets of the continent in 2025. The countries in the region saw substantially high growth rates in the sector in recent times compared to the rest of Europe. 

It is reported that over the past three years, the Eastern/Central region’s solar generation has grown at an impressive annual rate of 49 percent, significantly outpacing Europe’s overall growth of 19 percent, Western Europe’s 16 percent, and Southern Europe’s 21 percent. If this trend continues in 2025, the region may come out as one of the key contributors in solar energy growth in the world, and may even outpace the Western European nations by the end of this decade.

Poland’s National Energy Policy, with a target to increase the renewable energy share in electricity to 27 percent by 2030, has fueled the recent solar boost in the country. Poland ranked fourth in Europe in terms of PV capacity growth in 2023. Hungary saw PV installations increased by 1.6 GW and installed capacity climbed to 5.6 GW in 2023. The trend continues as Nestle is expanding its factory in Szerencs, Hungary, with a new 1.5 GW solar park set to begin operations in March 2025.

The solar market in Bulgaria saw installed PV capacity rise from just over 1 GW at the beginning of 2021 to almost 3 GW at the end of 2023. The PV expansion amounted to around 1 GW in 2023 alone.

Romania aims to expand its solar capacity from 1.9 GW in 2023 to 8 GW by 2030. Through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, it targets 5 GW of solar and wind by 2025, with 500 MW and 2 GW set for the first and second CfD rounds, respectively. Thus, we can expect the country to maintain its high solar growth rate through 2025 like it has shown in recent years. In 2023, Romania added 1 GW of PV capacity, a 300 percent increase from the previous year.

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Junaid Shah

Junaid holds a Master of Engineering degree in Construction & Management. Being a civil engineering postgraduate and using his technical prowess, he has channeled his passion for writing in the environmental niche.

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