Utility-scale solar added a record 45GW of new capacity last year, bringing the total to over 220GW, according to figures from Wiki-Solar.
“The acceleration is largely thanks to emerging markets”, said Wiki-Solar founder, Philip Wolfe.
“The top three of China, US and India remain far ahead but, with China slowing, the chasing ‘peloton’ is changing,” he said.
Wiki-Solar defines utility-scale as projects over 4MW and bases its figures on the AC export rating of operational plants.
The US added more than 9.6GW last year, followed by China with over 7.8GW and India with 6.8GW.
The UK was in fourth place, followed by Japan, Germany, Spain, Australia, Mexico and France.
Vietnam was the highest climber, rising 38 places to 11th in the table of cumulative installed capacity ranks, Wiki-Solar said.
The country installed over 3.4GW last year, putting it in fourth place for 2019.
“More change is expected in 2020 with the UK likely to drop several places, as Spain and Australia also accelerate. South and Central America looks increasingly prominent with Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina leading the charge,” Wiki-Solar said.