| 1 | Algeria | 2 700 | 2 | 0.07 % | Sahara mega-plans (10 GW) stalled by lack of export lines to EU; new 2025 MoU with Italy may unlock first 3 GW |
| 2 | Australia | 2 100 | 38 | 1.8 % | 100 GW rooftop fleet + big desert projects; grid congestion now main bottleneck—curtailment already >1 GW at midday |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 1 900 | 9 | 0.5 % | NEOM & Sakaka online; 130 GW 2030 target needs 250 bn USD and storage—currently finance-limited, not land-limited |
| 4 | Libya | 1 700 | <1 | 0.04 % | Civil-war risk keeps investors away; 2024 GNU issued first 500 MW tender but no financial close yet |
| 5 | China | 1 600 | 890 | 55 % | Hitting land ceiling in East; shifting to 3 %-land use in Gobi + 200 GW desert bases; module-overcapacity keeps domestic LCOE at 2 ¢/kWh |
| 6 | Mali | 1 500 | <1 | 0.03 % | Off-grid mines (gold) driving 50 MW/y; World Bank “Desert-to-Power” 330 MW pipeline but security issues delay construction |
| 7 | Sudan | 1 400 | <1 | 0.04 % | 500 MW Red Sea tender 2023 cancelled after coup; no grid export lines to Egypt or Saudi yet |
| 8 | Niger | 1 350 | <1 | 0.02 % | 30 MW Gorou Banda plant online 2022; 200 MW Kandadji planned; uranium mines eye 100 MW self-build solar-diesel hybrid |
| 9 | Chad | 1 300 | <1 | 0.03 % | 60 MW Djermaya PV + 25 MW battery (Chinese EPC) operational; interconnection to Cameroon 225 kV line would unlock 1 GW |
| 10 | Kazakhstan | 1 250 | 3 | 0.2 % | 1 GW auction round 2024 severely under-subscribed (only 300 MW awarded) due to grid-code curtailment fears |
| 11 | Argentina | 1 200 | 2 | 0.2 % | Jujuy 300 MW Cauchari operational; macro & FX controls block new foreign investment; Patagonia 600 MW awarded 2023 but on hold |
| 12 | India | 1 100 | 119 | 10.8 % | 14 GW utility-scale added 2024; transmission congestion in Rajasthan; new 50 GW ultra-mega solar park planned in Ladakh |
| 13 | Egypt | 1 050 | 2 | 0.2 % | 1.8 GW Benban complex finished; 10 GW West of Nile tender launched 2024—needs 3 bn USD HVDC link to Saudi or Europe |
| 14 | South Africa | 1 000 | 8 | 0.8 % | 4 GW procured under REIPPPP; daily load-shedding ended 2024 thanks to 5 GW rooftop boom—new risk is over-supply at midday |
| 15 | Pakistan | 950 | 5 | 0.5 % | 17 GW module imports 2024 but only 1 GW utility-scale added; rest is rooftop <1 kW systems—no batteries yet, grid still needed at night |
| 16 | Iran | 900 | <1 | 0.05 % | 600 MW allocated 2023 but sanctions block foreign debt; domestic panel fab (MEHR) only 500 MW/y capacity |
| 17 | Somalia | 850 | <1 | 0.04 % | 120 MW off-grid/diesel-replacement pipeline (World Bank Scaling Solar); security & port logistics raise CAPEX 20 % |
| 18 | Mexico | 800 | 9 | 1.1 % | 2021 energy-reform roll-back halted new utility tenders; private PPAs still active (400 MW/year) but CFE wants 30 % local content |
| 19 | Turkmenistan | 750 | <1 | 0.03 % | 300 MW tender 2024 (ACWA-Saudi) under sovereign guarantee; no public data on financial close |
| 20 | USA | 720 | 236 | 32.8 % | Inflation Reduction Act 45X/PTC keeps build-out at record 35 GW/y; interconnection queue still 2 000 GW—bottleneck is grid, not land or sun |
