In 2022, the global utility-scale solar power sector experienced another milestone year. Despite multiple challenges including supply chain disruptions, trade barriers, and high inflation, large-scale ground-mounted solar projects maintained strong growth momentum. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global solar power capacity grew by 192 GW (+22%) in 2022, with utility-scale photovoltaics accounting for almost all of the increase. Together, solar and wind power contributed 90% of all net new renewable additions that year. By the end of 2022, global cumulative installed solar capacity reached 1,053 GW, making it the second-largest renewable power technology after hydropower.

According to the *Global Market Outlook 2023-2027* published by SolarPower Europe (SPE), global solar additions reached 239 GW in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 45% – the highest since 2016. Utility-scale solar installations accounted for 121 GW, achieving a 41% year-on-year increase. Rystad Energy also noted that utility-scale renewable energy capacity hit a record 220 GW in 2022, with solar and wind investments exceeding US$300 billion, up about 20% from 2021. IRENA further reported that total global renewable power generation capacity reached 3,372 GW by the end of 2022.

I. China: Rapid Acceleration of Large-Scale Wind and Solar Base Construction

China maintained its global leadership in utility-scale solar in 2022. According to data from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), newly added wind and solar capacity in 2022 exceeded 125 GW, surpassing the 100 GW mark for the third consecutive year and setting a new record. Newly added renewable capacity reached 152 GW, accounting for 76.2% of the country’s total new power generation capacity – making renewables the main driver of new power installations. As of the end of 2022, cumulative installed solar capacity reached 393 GW, and total renewable capacity surpassed 1,213 GW, representing 47.3% of China’s total power generation capacity. Globally, China added 86 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, nearly half of the world’s total.

Large-scale wind and solar bases became a standout highlight of 2022. Projects focused on deserts, gobi areas, and wastelands progressed rapidly: the first batch of 97.05 GW of base projects had fully started construction, with some already in operation; some projects in the second batch had begun construction; and a project list for the third batch had been formed. Investment in solar power generation grew at an astonishing 232.7%, demonstrating strong policy momentum and market vitality.

At the project level, a number of landmark large-scale solar power plants were connected to the grid in 2022. On October 14, the world’s first ultra-high altitude photovoltaic empirical base – the SPIC Xingchuan Photovoltaic Empirical Power Plant in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan – achieved grid connection of its first generating units. The plant has a total capacity of 600 MW, with an investment of approximately RMB 3.2 billion. At full capacity, its average annual power generation will be 1.268 billion kWh, saving about 390,000 tonnes of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 1.07 million tonnes per year. This project fills a gap in China for photovoltaic empirical bases at ultra-high altitudes and mid-latitudes.

On July 24, the largest wind-solar-storage integrated project in northern China – the Datong Jilin Shengyu Taonan Xiangyang wind-solar complementary project – was successfully connected to the grid. The project has a total capacity of 1.15 GW, including 150 MW of solar, equipped with a 7.5 MW/7.5 MWh lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage system. It is expected to generate about 3.6 billion kWh of electricity annually, saving 1.18 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by 2.92 million tonnes.

On December 20, the Three Gorges Energy Fuyang Southern Wind-Solar Storage Base project was commissioned. As the first large-scale renewable base project in the Yangtze River Delta region, the project has a total capacity of 1.2 GW, comprising 650 MW of solar and 550 MW of wind. Once fully operational, annual generation will exceed 1.9 billion kWh. In addition, the first phase (1 GW) of the Ningxia Ningdong Photovoltaic Base was officially put into operation in early 2023; with a total capacity of 2 GW, it is currently the largest single-scale and most heavily invested new energy project in the Ningxia region.

II. United States: Strong Policy Drive but Supply Chain Headwinds

The U.S. utility-scale solar market in 2022 presented a picture of “strong demand but constrained supply.” According to the *2023 Utility-Scale Solar Report* published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the U.S. added 10.4 GW (AC) of new utility-scale PV capacity in 2022, bringing cumulative capacity to 61.7 GW (AC) across 46 states. While this was below the record 12.5 GW added in 2021, it was still a strong year for utility-scale PV deployment. Texas led the nation with 2.5 GW of new capacity, followed by California with 2.1 GW.

However, supply chain disruptions and trade restrictions significantly impacted the U.S. market. The American Clean Power Association (ACP) reported that the U.S. added 25.5 GW of new clean energy assets in 2022 – the third-highest year on record – but this marked the first annual decline in deployment in five years, down about 15% from the previous year, mainly due to weakness in the utility-scale solar market. A total of 66 GW of planned projects experienced various delays, with solar projects accounting for 68% of the delayed capacity, primarily because of trade restrictions on solar components from four Southeast Asian countries imposed in 2022.

Looking at quarterly data, utility-scale solar installations in Q3 2022 were only about 1.9 GW, the lowest quarterly figure since July–September 2020. In the first half of the year, developers had originally planned to install 17.8 GW, but only 4.2 GW were actually added – less than half of the plan. Despite these challenges, full-year 2022 utility-scale PV installations reached approximately 9.9 GW (DC). Developers commissioned 41 solar projects across 18 states, totaling 1.87 GW. California remained the leader with 16.8 GW of cumulative capacity, followed by Texas with 9.9 GW.

Notably, despite slower installation growth, project sizes continued to increase. While large projects in 2020–2021 typically ranged from 250–300 MW, newly queued projects in 2022 were generally double that size, with many reaching 400–690 MW. Meanwhile, the trend of co-locating solar with storage accelerated significantly: nearly 50% of new large-scale projects were equipped with an average of 4 hours of grid-scale storage, compared to only one-third in the previous period. Energy storage deployments reached 4 GW/12 GWh in 2022, with operating storage capacity growing 80% year-on-year.

On costs, despite inflationary pressures, U.S. utility-scale PV installation costs continued to decline. The median installed cost for projects completed in 2022 was $1.32/WAC (approx. $1.07/WDC), down 78% cumulatively since 2010, representing an average annual decline of about 10%. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for solar fell slightly to $39/MWh in 2022, down about 84% cumulatively since 2010.

III. Policy Driver: The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act Ushers in a New Era

On August 16, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law – the largest climate and energy investment bill in U.S. history, allocating approximately $369 billion to combat climate change and promote clean energy. The law’s impact on the utility-scale solar industry has been profound.

On tax incentives, the IRA extended the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for ten years and raised the base credit rate from 26% to 30%, while adding several new adders. Projects that meet domestic content requirements can receive additional credits, with the total potentially reaching 70%. Moreover, the IRA introduced a standalone ITC for energy storage systems, eliminating the previous requirement that storage be paired with solar to qualify for the credit – strongly promoting the development of “solar-plus-storage” integrated projects.

The passage of the IRA has already produced significant market effects. As of the ACP report’s release, the U.S. had announced 47 new manufacturing facilities, expansions, or restart projects, attracting $151 billion in capital investment, planning 96 GW of new manufacturing capacity, and creating about 18,000 manufacturing jobs. The ACP projects that between 2022 and 2030, the IRA will spur 525–550 GW of new utility-scale renewable energy projects, bring $550–600 billion in new capital investment, and add approximately $500 billion to U.S. GDP over the decade.

IV. Global Market Landscape and Cost Competitiveness

Regionally, Asia accounted for about 60% of new global renewable capacity additions in 2022, with China leading at 141 GW; Europe added 57.3 GW (+8.8%), North America 29.1 GW (+6.3%), South America 18.2 GW (+7.4%), and the Middle East recorded its highest growth rate ever at 12.8%.

Among major markets, India added 13.5 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, Brazil added 9.9 GW, the Netherlands added 7.7 GW, and Germany added 7.2 GW. A total of 26 countries and regions added more than 1 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, including China, the U.S., India, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Japan, Poland, and Australia.

On cost competitiveness, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for utility-scale solar continues to decline. The latest IRENA report shows that between 2010 and 2022, the global weighted-average LCOE of utility-scale solar PV fell by 89% – from $0.445/kWh in 2010 to $0.049/kWh in 2022, which is 29% cheaper than the cheapest fossil-fuel-based generation option. Among the 20 countries surveyed, nine saw utility-scale solar PV competitiveness improve more than the global