The International Energy Agency (IEA) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) has published a wide-reaching snapshot of the global PV market, covering installations, manufacturing, policy trends, and grid integration.

Global PV capacity grew to 1.6 TW in 2023, up from 1.2 TW in 2022, according to the IEA-PVPS Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2024.

The analysts said that up to 446 GW of new PV systems were commissioned last year, largely driven by rapid growth in China, alongside an estimated 150 GW of modules in inventories throughout the world.

“After several years of tension on material and transport costs, module prices plummeted in a massively over-supplied market, maintaining the competitivity of PV even as electricity prices decreased after historical peaks in 2022,” said the IEA-PVPS.

The report said that the oversupply of PV modules last year “shed light on the difficulties to align production and demand in a very versatile environment.” It noted that while production capacities increased significantly in China, growth only happened in a limited number of countries beyond China.

“Uneven political support in some markets could also be attributed to the difficulties to develop local PV manufacturing facilities in an already inundated market,” the report said, explaining that significant drops in PV module prices due to increased inventory, oversupply and competitive environment among manufacturers also caused strain on local manufacturing.

Elsewhere in the report, the IEA-PVPS said that both the rooftop and utility-scale segments grew in 2023. Approximately 45% of new capacity was on rooftops, continuing gradual growth seen since 2018 as rooftop markets opened in new countries, while decreasing installation costs and higher consumption costs made it more accessible for residential investors. The report noted that prosumers are becoming more active market drivers across the world, while noting a move away from net metering as PV costs go down.

The number of countries with theoretical penetration rates above 10% doubled last year, to 18. Spain, the Netherlands, Chile and Greece led in this metric, but more populous countries such as Germany and Japan also passed 10% for the first time.

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