2022 – A bright future for solar The UK Government’s own analysis shows that solar energy is now one of the most cost- efective ways to get the country to net zero carbon emissions.1 If we are going to fulfil the Government’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050, this will require the UK to triple its solar capacity by 2030.
Power generation from solar PV increased by a record 270 TWh in 2022, up by 26% on 2021. Solar PV accounted for 4.5% of total global electricity generation, and it remains the third largest renewable electricity technology behind hydropower and wind.
Globally, solar PV alone accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide. Prior to the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, the International Energy Agency (IEA) urged governments to support five pillars for action by 2030, among them the goal of tripling global renewable power capacity.
It is seen that the global weighted-average LCOE of solar PV technology reduced by about 89 % from 0.445 USD/kWh in 2010 to 0.049 USD/kWh in 2022. It is noticeable that the LCOE of PV technology has dropped into the range of fossil fuel electricity costs since 2014.
A new target to increase PV capacity auctioned to 40 GW annually and dynamic development of the domestic supply chain are expected to result in further acceleration in PV growth in the near future. Brazil added almost 11 GW of solar PV capacity in 2022, doubling its 2021 growth.
During the period 2019–2021, solar energy expansion outpaced any other technology, with a compound annual growth rate of 21%. 2021 was also the first year when solar and wind together met more than 10% of the world's global power demand. Solar represents 3.7% of all generated electricity in 2021 and wind represents 6.6% .