Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
Spain is one of the first countries to deploy large-scale solar photovoltaics, and is the world leader in concentrated solar power (CSP) production.
China is the largest market in the world for both photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. China's photovoltaic industry began by making panels for satellites, and transitioned to the manufacture of domestic panels in the late 1990s. After substantial government incentives were introduced in 2011, China's solar power market grew dramatically: the country became the world's leading installer of photovoltaics in 2013. China surpassed Germany as the world's largest producer of photovoltaic energy in 2015, and became the first country to have over 100 GW of total installed photovoltaic capacity in 2017.
Solar power in Nevada is growing due to a Renewable Portfolio Standard which requires 50% renewable energy by 2030. The state has abundant open land areas and some of the best solar potential in the country.
Solar power in Arizona has the potential to, according to then-Governor Janet Napolitano, make Arizona "the Persian Gulf of solar energy". In 2012, Arizona had 1,106 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems, and 6 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), bringing the total to over 1,112 megawatts (MW) of solar power. As an example, the Solana Generating Station, a 280 MW parabolic trough solar plant, when commissioned in 2013, was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.
The Montalto di Castro photovoltaic power station is an 84 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station at Montalto di Castro in Viterbo province, Italy. The project was developed by the independent developer SunRay that was later acquired by SunPower. The park is the largest PV project in Italy, and among the largest in Europe.
The Okhotnykove Solar Power Station is a Photovoltaic power station in Crimea with installed capacity of 82,65 megawatts (MW). As of April 2012, it is the world's 6th largest solar plant and the second largest PV station in central and eastern Europe. The power station is located at Okhotnykove, Crimea, Ukraine and was developed by the Austrian company Activ Solar. The first and second phases of the project were commissioned in July 2011, the third and fourth in October 2011.
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.
Solar power in Colorado has grown rapidly, partly because of one of the most favorable net metering laws in the country, with no limit on the number of users. The state was the first in the nation to establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard for its electric utilities.
The Perovo Solar Park or Perove Solar Park is a 100 MWp photovoltaic power station located at Klyuchi - a part of Perove, Simferopol Raion, Crimea, Ukraine. As of July 2012, it was the world's fourth-largest solar farm, and was made up of 440,000 solar panels. It is owned by Activ Solar, and the final 20 MW stage was completed on December 29, 2011.
Solar power in France including overseas territories reached an installed capacity figure of 11.2 GW in 2020, and rose further to 17.1 GW at the end of 2022. Government plans announced in 2022 foresee solar PV capacity in France rising to 100 GW by 2050.
Solar power in Ukraine is obtained from photovoltaics or solar thermal energy.
Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m2/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert could supply all of Mexico's electricity.
Solar power in Florida has been increasing, as the cost of solar power systems using photovoltaics (PV) has decreased in recent years. Florida has low electricity costs compared with other states, which makes individual solar investment less attractive. Florida ranks ninth nationally in solar resource strength according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and tenth in solar generation by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics (PV) as well as concentrated solar power (CSP). In 2016, South Africa had 1,329 MW of installed solar power capacity. Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to solar energy:
In 2022 Chile produced about 18% of its electricity from solar power, up from 7% in 2018. As of 2022, Chile produces the highest percentage of its electricity from solar in the world. At the end of 2021 Chile was ranked 22nd in the world in terms of installed solar energy.
Agrivoltaics,agrophotovoltaics,agrisolar, or dual-use solar is the simultaneous use of areas of land for both solar panels and agriculture. The technique was originally conceived by Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow in 1981, Agrivoltaics can refer to different methods of combining crops with solar panels, from conventional solar panels placed on top of crops, to greenhouses made of semi-transparent PV panels.
Photovoltaic system performance is a function of the climatic conditions, the equipment used and the system configuration. PV performance can be measured as the ratio of actual solar PV system output vs expected values, the measurement being essential for proper solar PV facility's operation and maintenance. The primary energy input is the global light irradiance in the plane of the solar arrays, and this in turn is a combination of the direct and the diffuse radiation.
