Solar electricity generating capacity has on average doubled every two years since 1998

Solar power generating capacity grew 69% in 2008, the fastest rate of growth in our database which goes back to 1996. Total capacity grew by 5.5 GW to reach 13.4 GW. Growth averaged 42% pa over the past 10 years – at that rate solar capacity doubles every two years.
Growth in 2008 was highly concentrated – Spain (2.7 GW) and Germany (1.5 GW) together accounted for more than 75% of the growth, due to continued strong government support for solar power in those markets.