Solar panels: price vs installed capacity worldwide, 1975–2024
While installed capacity grew from under 1 MW to 1.9 million MW, the price of a module fell from $132 to $0.27 per watt, in inflation-adjusted dollars.
What does this axis measure?
Module price ($/W)
What does this axis measure?
Cumulative capacity (MW)
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- y ↑
- Module price ($/W)
- x →
- Cumulative capacity (MW)
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The data: 40 points
| Cumulative capacity (MW) | Module price ($/W) |
|---|---|
| 0.54 | 132.376 |
| 1.08 | 99.598 |
| 3.51 | 51.408 |
| 5.24 | 43.195 |
| 7.96 | 36.605 |
| 12.88 | 29.266 |
| 29.25 | 21.228 |
| 46.7 | 19.725 |
| 66.45 | 17.22 |
| 89.16 | 14.245 |
| 140.6 | 11.312 |
| 173.35 | 11.69 |
| 212.3 | 12.091 |
| 257.15 | 11.201 |
| 365.9 | 9.759 |
| 423.75 | 9.232 |
| 489.25 | 8.536 |
| 565 | 7.98 |
| 771 | 7.166 |
| 914.5 | 6.619 |
| 1,103 | 6.496 |
| 1,373 | 6.284 |
| 2,229.21 | 5.464 |
| 2,916.28 | 4.695 |
| 4,391.37 | 4.746 |
| 5,912.47 | 5.173 |
| 14,445 | 4.749 |
| 22,483.07 | 3.174 |
| 39,849.21 | 2.512 |
| 70,427.84 | 2.061 |
| 134,727.5 | 0.857 |
| 172,967.39 | 0.791 |
| 220,150.81 | 0.736 |
| 291,686.25 | 0.68 |
| 479,046 | 0.509 |
| 580,466.75 | 0.467 |
| 710,725.8 | 0.37 |
| 854,812.44 | 0.332 |
| 1,410,555.9 | 0.322 |
| 1,866,897.9 | 0.265 |
- Ran in puzzle #5 on October 1, 2026. Play it
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