Solar PV Hits a Record 600GW in 2025: What Harnessing Solar Power Adds
The IEA's Global Energy Review 2026 confirms that 2025 was another record year for solar power: global renewable capacity additions rose 16% to 800 GW, and solar PV accounted for more than three-quarters of that growth, surpassing 600 GW of new capacity for the first time and pushing cumulative global solar PV capacity to roughly 2,800 GW — now the largest installed capacity of any power generation technology. China led with almost 370 GW installed, the EU added a record near-70 GW (Germany 17 GW, Spain up 50% to 14 GW), India commissioned nearly 50 GW, and thirty countries each installed over 1 GW — almost double the number in 2020, as deployment spreads well beyond the traditional leaders.
That spread is precisely the challenge Harnessing Solar Power: Designing and Optimizing Architectures for Sustainable Energy Systems, edited by Shrikaant Kulkarni and Susanta Das (Wiley, 2026), is built to address. Scaling solar from a handful of leading markets to dozens of new ones is a design and systems problem as much as a policy one: it means integrating photovoltaic arrays into buildings that were not designed for them, sizing systems correctly for sites with little prior solar data, and monitoring fleets of installations that are too numerous and too dispersed for manual oversight.
The book's 22 chapters answer each of these directly. Its treatment of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) gives architects and engineering teams step-by-step guidance for incorporating solar arrays into new and retrofit building design — directly relevant as EU markets like Germany and Spain push rooftop and building-scale solar to new records. Its site-assessment frameworks offer a structured method for evaluating solar resource potential and sizing systems in markets, such as those in South Asia and Africa, that are newly crossing the 1 GW-per-year threshold. And its chapters on AI- and IoT-based monitoring and predictive maintenance address the operational reality of managing solar assets at a scale that has roughly doubled the count of gigawatt-plus solar markets since 2020.
For engineering, architecture and sustainability libraries, this is a timely acquisition: it pairs the technical depth needed for graduate coursework and professional reference with case studies — including rural electrification and off-grid deployment — that make it useful well beyond traditional solar-engineering programs, into urban planning, energy policy and international development collections.
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Q&A
How much solar PV capacity was added globally in 2025?
According to the IEA's Global Energy Review 2026, global solar PV additions surpassed 600 GW for the first time in 2025, making up more than three-quarters of all new renewable capacity and pushing cumulative global solar PV capacity to around 2,800 GW.
What does "Harnessing Solar Power" cover?
It covers the design and optimization of solar power system architectures, including photovoltaic and solar-thermal fundamentals, building-integrated photovoltaics, site assessment, AI/IoT-based monitoring, and lifecycle management, illustrated with case studies.
Does the book address building-integrated photovoltaics for architects?
Yes. It provides step-by-step design principles and case studies for integrating photovoltaic arrays into building architecture, relevant to the record rooftop and building-scale solar growth seen in markets like Germany and Spain.
Is the book relevant to solar deployment in emerging markets?
Yes. Its site-assessment frameworks and rural electrification case studies speak directly to the growing number of countries — now over thirty — installing more than 1 GW of solar annually.
Where can I buy Harnessing Solar Power?
Harnessing Solar Power by Shrikaant Kulkarni and Susanta Das is available now from CLNZ Books, with pricing that includes worldwide shipping and secure payment by card or PayPal.