{"chart":{"title":"Solar photovoltaic module prices vs. cumulative capacity","subtitle":"Average price of solar modules versus cumulative installed capacity. Prices are expressed in US dollars per watt, adjusted for inflation. Cumulative solar capacity is measured in megawatts.","note":"Costs are expressed in constant 2025 US$ per watt. Global estimates are used before 2010; European market benchmarks thereafter due to limited data availability.","citation":"IRENA (2025) and other sources","originalChartUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-pv-prices-vs-cumulative-capacity","selection":["World"]},"columns":{"Solar photovoltaic module price":{"titleShort":"Solar photovoltaic module price","titleLong":"Solar photovoltaic module price","descriptionShort":"This data is expressed in US dollars per watt, adjusted for inflation.","descriptionKey":"- Solar photovoltaic module prices refer to the cost of the solar panel itself, and do not include installation or other system components.\n- Prices are compiled from three sources: Nemet (2009) for 1975–2003, Farmer & Lafond (2016) for 2004–2009, and IRENA for 2010 onward.\n- Due to limited data availability, we use the Global Price Index series reported by IRENA, based on pvXchange benchmark prices for modules sold in Europe.\n- Historical prices have been adjusted for inflation using the [World Bank's US GDP deflator (linked series)](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.DEFL.ZS.AD?locations=US).","descriptionProcessing":"- Historical photovoltaic cost data between 1975 and 2003 has been taken from Nemet (2009), and between 2004 and 2009 from Farmer & Lafond (2016).\n- From 2010 onward, prices come from IRENA's Renewable Power Generation Costs report, based on pvXchange benchmarks for modules sold in Europe, using the 'Thin film a-Si/u-Si or Global Price Index (from Q4 2013)' series.\n- Prices from Nemet (2009) and Farmer & Lafond (2016) have been converted to 2025 US$ using the US GDP deflator (linked series), to account for the effects of inflation. The deflator data is available from the [World Bank World Development Indicators](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.DEFL.ZS.AD?locations=US).","shortUnit":"$/W","unit":"constant 2025 US$ per watt","timespan":"1975-2024","type":"Numeric","owidVariableId":1305867,"shortName":"cost","lastUpdated":"2026-07-28","nextUpdate":"2027-07-28","citationShort":"IRENA (2025); Nemet (2009); Farmer and Lafond (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data","citationLong":"IRENA (2025); Nemet (2009); Farmer and Lafond (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Solar photovoltaic module price” [dataset]. IRENA, “Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024”; Nemet, “Interim monitoring of cost dynamics for publicly supported energy technologies”; Farmer and Lafond, “How predictable is technological progress?” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1305867.metadata.json"},"Solar photovoltaic cumulative capacity":{"titleShort":"Solar photovoltaic cumulative capacity","titleLong":"Solar photovoltaic cumulative capacity","descriptionShort":"Solar photovoltaic (on-grid) electricity installed capacity, measured in megawatts.","shortUnit":"MW","unit":"megawatts","timespan":"1975-2025","type":"Numeric","owidVariableId":1305868,"shortName":"cumulative_capacity","lastUpdated":"2026-07-28","nextUpdate":"2027-07-28","citationShort":"Nemet (2009); IRENA (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data","citationLong":"Nemet (2009); IRENA (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Solar photovoltaic cumulative capacity” [dataset]. Nemet, “Interim monitoring of cost dynamics for publicly supported energy technologies”; IRENA, “Renewable Energy Statistics” [original data].","fullMetadata":"https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1305868.metadata.json"}},"dateDownloaded":"2026-10-02"}