2025 in review: Solar power - The work horse of energy transition

After several turbulent years marked by inflation, supply-chain pressures and energy-market volatility, 2025 emerged as a stabilising period for the global solar industry. Investment rebounded, developers advanced ambitious multi-country pipelines, new financing structures gained traction and regulatory shifts in the UK, Europe and the US reshaped deployment pathways. Solar remained the standout technology in the global energy transition. According to the IRENA and Climate Policy Initiative Global Landscape of Energy Transition Finance 2025, solar PV investment reached an all-time high of $554 billion in 2024, representing a 49% increase over the 2022–23 average and accounting for 69% of all renewable-energy investments that year. That momentum carried into 2025, driving the strongest development environment the sector has seen in years. inspiratia’s H1 league tables showed that solar energy saw the highest deal count by a wide margin, followed by wind and energy storage. The asset class accounted for 141 deals, and led in terms of financed capacity, with 9.1GW. As the year comes to an end, inspiratia unpacks the major developments in solar through 2025, covering the year’s standout deals, shifting financing patterns and evolving policy frameworks.