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.
India's solar power installed capacity was 84.28 GW AC as of 31 May 2024. India is the third largest producer of solar power globally.
For solar power, South Asia has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation and a high density of potential customers.
Solar power has a small but growing role in electricity production in the United Kingdom.
Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Canada have been non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops and lumber. In 2001, there were more than 12,000 residential solar water heating systems and 300 commercial/ industrial solar hot water systems in use. These systems presently comprise a small fraction of Canada's energy use, but some government studies suggest they could make up as much as five percent of the country's energy needs by the year 2025.
Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant near Sarnia, Ontario, is Canada's largest photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 97 MWP (80 MWAC).
Welspun Energy Private Limited is an independent power company based in New Delhi, India. It is a subsidiary of Welspun Group.
Solar power in Gujarat, a state of India, is a fast developing industry given that the large state is mostly arid. It was one of the first states to develop solar generation capacity in India.
Solar power is an important contributor to electricity generation in Italy, accounting for 8% of the total in 2017. As of 2022, the country has a total installed capacity of 22.56 GW. In 2019, Italy set a national goal of reaching 50 GW by 2030.
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 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 Chile is an increasingly important source of energy. Total installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Chile reached 8.36 GW in 2023. Solar energy provided 19.9% of national electricity generation in Chile in 2023, compared to less than 0.1% in 2013.
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is an operational ground mounted, grid-connected photovoltaic solar park spread over an area of 1,590 acres (6.4 km2) in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It started producing power in 2018 and reached its full capacity of 750MW in January 2020. The project was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on July 10, 2020. It was the first solar project in India to break the grid parity barrier. It achieved a first-year tariff of INR 2.97/unit, while the previous record was INR 4.34/unit.
Vikram Solar Limited is an Indian company based in Kolkata. It is one of the largest solar module manufacturers in India, with 3.5 GW module manufacturing capacity annually and the second-largest solar energy company in India by revenue. The company's primary business focus is manufacturing solar PV modules, and also carrying out engineering, procurement, and construction services and operations, and maintenance of solar power plants.
The CIAL Solar Power Project is a 40 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station built at Cochin International Airport, India, by the company Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). Cochin International Airport became the first fully solar powered airport in the world with the commissioning the plant.
Touwsrivier CPV Solar Project is a 44 MWp (36 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) power station located 13 km outside the town of Touwsrivier in the Western Cape of South Africa. The installation reached full capacity in December 2014 and is the second largest operating CPV facility in the world. Electricity produced by the plant is fed into the national grid operated by Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
The Madhya Pradesh I solar park near Surajpur Village in the Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh is a 200 megawatt (MWDC) photovoltaic power station, which is under construction. It was formerly known as solar park Northwest India I.
