Solar energy is used on every continent, but a handful of countries dominate the global landscape. China alone installed 277 gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity in 2024, more than double the entire installed solar fleet of the United States. Beyond the major players, solar power is also spreading rapidly through off-grid systems in rural Africa, floating panels on Asian reservoirs, and corporate campuses across North America and Europe.
China’s Massive Lead
China is the undisputed center of global solar energy. Its utility-scale solar capacity surpassed 880 gigawatts in 2024, a figure that dwarfs every other nation. To put that in perspective, the capacity China added in a single year (277 GW) is more than twice the total amount the United States has ever installed. Chinese manufacturers also produce the vast majority of the world’s solar panels, giving the country influence over both supply and deployment.
That dominance extends to the workforce. China employs roughly 4.6 million people in solar energy alone, nearly half the world’s total renewable energy workforce. The country’s solar buildout spans rooftop installations in dense cities, enormous ground-mounted farms across its western deserts, and a growing fleet of floating solar arrays on lakes and reservoirs.
The United States and Its Solar Belt
In the U.S., solar generation is heavily concentrated in a few sun-rich states. As of mid-2024, three states accounted for almost half of the country’s utility-scale solar fleet: California (21.0 GW), Texas (18.8 GW), and Florida (9.7 GW). Texas has been the fastest-growing market in recent years, driven by cheap land, strong sunlight, and a deregulated electricity grid that makes it easier to connect new projects.
American businesses have also become massive solar buyers. Through the first quarter of 2024, U.S. companies had installed or contracted nearly 40 gigawatts of solar capacity. Meta leads all corporate users with nearly 5.2 GW, while Amazon has a staggering 13.6 GW of solar procurements under contract for future delivery. Google, General Motors, Toyota, and U.S. Steel are among the other large buyers. On the rooftop side, Target has been the nation’s leading onsite corporate solar user for nine consecutive years, with Walmart, Prologis, and Amazon also running large rooftop portfolios across their warehouses and stores.
India, Europe, and Other Major Markets
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing solar markets, driven by ambitious government targets and falling panel costs. The country has built some of the largest solar parks on Earth, including complexes in the desert state of Rajasthan that stretch across thousands of acres. India also hosts some of the cheapest floating solar projects ever built, with one 36 MW installation reporting costs as low as $0.41 per watt.
In the European Union, solar energy has become a central part of electricity grids in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and France. The EU collectively supports about 1.81 million renewable energy jobs. The Netherlands stands out as a pioneer in floating solar outside Asia, hosting installations on former gravel pits and industrial water bodies. France is the other major European floating solar market, ranking in the global top ten for that technology.
Japan and South Korea round out the list of major Asian markets. Both countries, short on open land, have invested heavily in rooftop systems and floating arrays. Brazil, meanwhile, has quietly become a solar powerhouse in South America, employing 1.57 million people across its renewable energy sector and expanding its solar fleet rapidly in the sunny northeast.
Off-Grid Solar in Sub-Saharan Africa
Solar energy’s global footprint isn’t only about massive grid-connected farms. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 75% of the world’s population without electricity, and roughly 500 million of those people live in rural areas far from any power grid. For these communities, small solar systems are often the first and only source of reliable electricity.
Solar-powered mini-grids and standalone home systems have driven rural electrification rates in the region from 17% in 2010 to 28% a decade later, with about 11 million mini-grid connections now operational. Kenya has been a standout: between 2009 and 2018, the country saw 4.7 million solar products sold, and nearly 10 million Kenyans (about 20% of the population) used solar devices to meet their basic electricity needs. The mini-grid market across sub-Saharan Africa is projected to reach 111 million households by 2030.
These systems typically power lights, phone chargers, small appliances, and sometimes refrigeration for clinics and shops. They cost a fraction of what it would take to extend traditional power lines to remote villages, making solar the practical default for rural electrification across much of the continent.
Floating Solar on Lakes and Reservoirs
One of the fastest-growing niches in solar energy is floating photovoltaics: panels mounted on buoyant platforms anchored to lakes, reservoirs, and industrial ponds. Global floating solar capacity reached 7.7 GW by the end of 2023, up from just 1.6 GW in 2018.
Almost 90% of that capacity sits in Asia, with China accounting for close to half. Taiwan, India, Israel, Japan, and South Korea host the next-largest installations. Floating solar is especially appealing in land-scarce countries because it uses water surfaces that are otherwise unproductive. The panels also reduce evaporation from reservoirs and tend to run slightly more efficiently than land-based systems because the water keeps them cool. Projects range from small arrays on irrigation ponds to utility-scale installations, and the Philippines has even tested ocean-based floating systems.
The Global Solar Workforce
Solar energy now supports millions of jobs worldwide, spanning manufacturing, installation, project development, and maintenance. Global renewable energy employment hit 16.2 million in 2023, up from 13.7 million just a year earlier. China leads with 7.39 million total green energy jobs, followed by the EU (1.81 million), Brazil (1.57 million), the United States (1.06 million), and India (1.02 million). Solar accounts for the largest share of these positions in most countries, reflecting the labor intensity of panel manufacturing and rooftop installation work compared to other energy sources.