By the end of 2014, total installed capacity for solar PV globally amount to at least 177 gigawatts, up from nearly 140 gigawatts in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency's Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS). 

Countries in the IEA-PVPS network that are engaged in collaborative efforts to grow the PV market reported 155 gigawatts of cumulative solar installations at the end of 2014. Countries outside of the PVPS program, which the IEA tracks through industry groups as opposed to official government bodies, installed at least 22 gigawatts of additional capacity.

There is at least 10 times more solar PV installed around the world today than in 2008. These global installations are now producing more than 1 percent of the electricity used on the planet. But while the global solar PV market continues to grow, last year's performance didn't quite meet expectations. The IEA's preliminary data released in March shows the global PV market saw a modest increase year over year, from 37.6 gigawatts in 2013 to 38.7 gigawatts in 2014.

The market in Europe decreased significantly, from 22 gigawatts in 2011 to around 7 gigawatts in 2014. Germany saw a decline to 1.9 gigawatts of new installed solar. Italy's market, where the feed-in tariff was phased out, declined to 400 megawatts. Markets that had previously seen gigawatt-scale growth - Spain, Czech Republic, Belgium, Greece and Bulgaria - screeched to a halt, with either nothing or just a few megawatts of new solar PV installed in 2014. Overall, European markets installed at least 4 gigawatts less last year than in 2013.

In China, the solar PV market saw significant growth, but did not hit the 14-gigawatt target some believed it could have reached. China revised its PV targets down in 2013, from 12.92 gigawatts to 10.95 gigawatts. In 2014, the Chinese solar market reached 10.6 gigawatts.

Ultimately, the global PV market could have been larger than what it achieved "if Europe could have maintained its market level and China fulfilled expectations," according to the IEA.

Source: IEA PVPS