Wood Mackenzie

Robots on solar sites are not new; they have been deployed to automate everything from operations and maintenance to inspection and cleaning. In recent months, there has been an uptick in interest in robots for installation, particularly among utility-scale solar developers dealing with staff shortages, safety concerns, rising costs, and pressure to build.

Mature markets Brazil and Chile will account for 78% of total installations, with small-scale projects (<5 MW) accounting for 48% of total builds in the region, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie says Chinese companies installed 24 GW of power projects throughout the world under China’s “Belt and Road” development initiative in 2024. This marked a record for a calendar year, with solar projects accounting for about one-third of the newly installed capacity.

Wood Mackenzie’s latest report forecasts that 493 GW (DC) of solar will be added throughout the world this year, compared to 495 GW in 2024. Solar module prices are expected to rise this year as manufacturers aim to recover profit losses from the past two years.

Wood Mackenzie says that a 30% increase in upstream spending will be needed to meet stronger oil and gas demand under a delayed energy transition. The research firm warns that this scenario could strain supply chains, inflate costs, and push Brent crude prices above $100/barrel by the 2030s.

The “US Solar Market Insight Q4 2024” report, published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, states that domestic module manufacturing will be able to match the rapid pace of growth in the US solar industry, with cell production also ramping up.

Wood Mackenzie predicts that the global floating solar market will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and led by India, China and Indonesia through to 2033. The consultancy says growth will be driven by rising demand, decreased capital expenditure and supportive policies.

Now that incentives from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are well understood, global manufacturers are announcing factories in the United States to constitute much of the solar supply chain. While some plans have been scrapped already, and more cancellations are expected, the broader trend is unprecedented growth.

Global tracker shipments reached 92 GWdc last year, according to WoodMackenzies’ latest report. The US accounted for the majority of the global market, with three US-based manufacturers, Nextracker, Array Technologies and GameChange Solar, ranking as the three largest shippers in the world.