Most Solar Power Overall
Some may find it interesting to know that Australia was only the 9th highest user of solar PV energy in 2014. However, this is probably due to our smaller population. Germany was the country that that had the most solar PV power in 2014. The table below shows you the ranking of each country as having the highest installed solar power obtained from Energy Informative. This information was obtained in 2014.
Following Germany, Italy is the second highest and China is 3rd. Again, China being in the third position might surprise people as well. However, when we look at per capita installed PV it is a different story. The USA is 4th, Japan is 5th, followed by Spain, France, Belgium and then Australia.
Most Solar Power Based on Population
Looking at this information in another way, the table below lists countries in order of ranking by the highest level of per capita (per millions) of installed PV energy in 2014. The table uses the above information from Energy Informative and population figures from the internet.
Germany remains the highest ranking country for the most solar power even under this different classification. China, however, falls from 3rd down to 10th due to the population of that country. This is probably more what people would expect.
Interestingly, Australia has improved only from 9th to 6th, which, given our abundance of natural sunlight, is rather poor.
Italy is the second highest country in terms of amount of installed solar energy per million population. Italy is followed by Belgium, the Czech Republic, Spain and then Australia.
Again due to the high population numbers, Japan has dropped from its 5th position ranking to now the 8th position of the counties in this sample, which had the most solar power installed in total measured by mega watts.
Why is Germany the Country with the Most Solar Power?
From the presentation of this information, it appears that Germany is the country with the most solar power due to their solar incentive program. Apparently, they have an excellent subsidising framework and a feed-in tariff scheme. Thus a country without a massive amount of natural sunlight, has managed to lead the rest of the world due to their solar incentive program.
According to Energy Informative, whilst Germany is the leading country in terms of installed solar panels, this source of solar energy accounts for only 3% of the country’s electricity consumption.
