“$1.6 Trillion by 2034” — Why this matters for O&M, and why we already care

By Stuart Spiers | 20-11-25

An industry headline caught my attention recently: the global solar energy market is forecast to grow from about $400 billion in 2024 to $1.6 trillion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate of around 15.2%. 

That’s a big number. But when you sit in operations, the real story lies in what it means for assets, systems and service providers like us.

Growth is inevitable. Complexity is optional.

When solar becomes a trillion-dollar industry, deployment speed isn’t enough. The real value lies in how well we maintain, monitor and operate.

More capacity means more sites, more components, more interfaces and more risk if things are left unchecked. At SGU we’ve been operating with an ownership mindset precisely because we know that tomorrow’s value is built today.

Bigger market = higher standards, higher expectations

When the industry shifts into high-gear, things like performance consistency, lifecycle planning and data integrity stop being “nice to have”. They become core.

For O&M firms that simply turn up when there’s a fault, the upgrade is uphill. For those who plan, monitor, intervene early and act like owners, the advantage is clear.

The challenge of variability — and the O&M opportunity

The report highlights a key restraint: the intermittent nature of solar power — its dependence on weather, daylight and generation variability. 

That means operations have to be smarter. Faults can hide. Performance shifts quietly. Maintenance windows shrink.

Which is why SGU applies daily data reviews, anomaly detection before alarms, and site-specific actionable insight. The value is in catching the drift before the drop.

Operating like it matters — because it does

Trillions of dollars of capacity might be installed, but the worth of that capacity depends on yield, reliability and lifetime.

We don’t just service solar farms.

We act as their guardians.

We plan for month 120, not just month 12.

Because when markets scale, the smallest decisions scale too.

Last thoughts from me:

$1.6 trillion by 2034 is more than a target.

It’s a signal that solar is entering a phase where operational excellence, reliability and lifecycle thinking become the differentiators.

The way we operate today defines which assets thrive tomorrow.

Because we care.