Canada’s Cumulative Installed Solar PV Capacity Exceeds 5 GW

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) says Canada’s solar PV energy capacity grew by over 92% during the 2019-2024 period with the addition of 2 GW utility-scale and 600 MW of onsite solar.  

During the same period, Canada’s total installed wind, solar and storage capacity rose by 46% with the inclusion of 5 GW of new wind and 200 MW of new energy storage.

With this, the country’s total installed solar energy capacity has increased to more than 4 GW of utility-scale solar and over 1 GW of onsite solar. The country now has 217 operational solar energy projects and nearly 96,000 onsite PV installations.

Wind energy continues to dominate the renewable energy scene in the country as CanREA says the cumulative installed capacity of wind energy now exceeds 18 GW, and another 330 MW comes from energy storage.

According to the association, since its launch in 2020, the country’s renewable energy installations have grown by nearly 7.6 GW. By the start of 2030, it is expected to connect a minimum of 10 GW of new wind, solar and storage capacity. Beyond that, there is another 5 GW likely to come online for a grand total of over 15 GW of procurements that are either directly underway or being planned.

CanREA counts this as representing more than CAD 30 billion ($21 billion) in investments. 

“Canada’s wind, solar and energy storage industry grew impressively over the past five years—and we expect to see significantly more growth in the next five years,” said CanREA’s President and CEO Vittoria Bellissimo. “But this is not nearly enough. Canada has massive, untapped wind and solar resources that can and should be harnessed to provide the affordable, clean, scalable electricity needed in all jurisdictions.”

Canada targets to achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2050 for which it needs an additional 684 TWh of generation capacity. The federal state requires all its provinces to fully decarbonize their electricity generation. However, public policy think tank Fraser Institute does not see it possible. (see Canada Requires 840 Solar Power Stations To Achieve 2050 Emission Goals).  

Nevertheless, a recent report of Persistence Market Research projects Canada’s solar PV system market to reach $13.2 billion by 2031, growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7%. It will be driven by favorable government policies in terms of net metering, tax rebates and feed-in-tariffs, along with declining costs of solar panels and growing awareness about sustainability among consumers and businesses.