Installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Installed solar energy capacity was 0.006 gigawatts in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea, 2001–2025
Source: IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in gigawatts.
Analysis
The most recent figure for installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea is 0.006 gigawatts, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 22.5% on the previous year and up 581.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea peaked at 0.006 gigawatts in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0003 gigawatts, in 2001.
That places Papua New Guinea 187th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | gigawatts | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.0003 gigawatts | — |
| 2002 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +6.9% |
| 2005 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0003 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0009 gigawatts | +159.0% |
| 2016 | 0.001 gigawatts | +18.1% |
| 2017 | 0.0011 gigawatts | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 0.0013 gigawatts | +22.3% |
| 2019 | 0.0019 gigawatts | +42.7% |
| 2020 | 0.0024 gigawatts | +26.3% |
| 2021 | 0.0041 gigawatts | +69.1% |
| 2022 | 0.0039 gigawatts | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 0.0039 gigawatts | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.0049 gigawatts | +25.7% |
| 2025 | 0.006 gigawatts | +22.5% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.006 gigawatts is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.1399 gigawatts, 4% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.006 gigawatts is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1563 gigawatts, 4% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0003 gigawatts | 0.0003 gigawatts | 0.0003 gigawatts | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.0008 gigawatts | 0.0003 gigawatts | 0.0019 gigawatts | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0042 gigawatts | 0.0024 gigawatts | 0.006 gigawatts | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 184 American Samoa 0.0071 gigawatts compare
- 185 Iceland 0.0071 gigawatts compare
- 186 Belize 0.007 gigawatts compare
- 188 Brunei 0.0059 gigawatts compare
- 189 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.0056 gigawatts compare
- 190 Cook Islands 0.0056 gigawatts compare
More energy & mining data for Papua New Guinea
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 9.69 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 17.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea?
- Installed solar energy capacity in Papua New Guinea was 0.006 gigawatts in 2025, according to IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest installed solar energy capacity recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.006 gigawatts in 2025.
- What is the lowest installed solar energy capacity recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0003 gigawatts in 2001.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for installed solar energy capacity?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 187th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is installed solar energy capacity rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 581.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Installed solar energy capacity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total solar (on- and off-grid) electricity installed capacity, measured in gigawatts. This includes solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power.