According to a recent research report released by the International Photovoltaic Power Consortium (ISA), China and the United States have consistently attracted the most photovoltaic (PV) investment in recent years. Since 2015, the PV industries of these two countries have collectively received approximately 50% of the total investment.
In 2022, global PV industry investment reached $308 billion, a significant increase of 36% compared to 2021. However, according to a research report released recently at the ISA’s sixth industry conference in New Delhi, India, PV system investment accounted for only 11.5% of total energy investment ($2.6 trillion) in 2022.
The report points out that the vast majority of global PV industry investment is concentrated in several developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe and North America. In 2022, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and North America accounted for 55% and 33% of global investment in developing PV projects, respectively. In these regions, these investments are primarily driven by economies with mature PV markets, such as China, the United States, Japan, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Brazil, Vietnam, Germany, and India.
China and the United States attract the largest amounts of photovoltaic (PV) investment annually, accounting for approximately 50% of all PV investment since 2015. Only a small fraction of global PV investment is concentrated in emerging and developing economies such as the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Consequently, these regions lag behind in market competition for PV system installations.
The report emphasizes that prioritizing developing and underdeveloped countries and regions with significant untapped PV power generation potential is crucial to accelerating global PV investment.
In 2022, investment in PV system installations accounted for nearly 90% of total investment across the entire PV value chain. In terms of market segmentation, utility-scale PV systems accounted for the largest share of total PV industry investment at 43%, followed by residential PV systems at 39%, and commercial and industrial (C&I) PV systems at 18%.
Private financing is the primary contributor to PV investment, accounting for over 80% of total investment from 2015 to 2022. The remaining PV investment during this period came from the public sector.
The report argues that more funding needs to be mobilized from the public sector to ensure a equitable and inclusive energy transition, as most private financing has flowed to developed economies.