SOLAR

Global Solar O&M Market Reaches 348 GW as Top 15 Providers Control 57% Share

October 5, 2026 By Gaurav Nathani 5 min read
0:00 / 05:37

The global solar photovoltaic (PV) operations and maintenance (O&M) market expanded by 61 GW year-over-year to reach 348 GW of assessed capacity at the end of 2025, according to Wood Mackenzie’s latest report, Global Solar PV O&M Service Provider Dynamics 2026. The rapid expansion was primarily driven by accelerating market consolidation among top service providers as solar asset owners increasingly rely on scaled vendors to manage asset availability, performance optimization, and fleet lifecycle management.

Key Industry Data Highlights

  • 348 GW: Total assessed global solar PV O&M market capacity at the end of 2025 (an increase of 61 GW).
  • 200 GW (57%): Combined capacity managed by the top 15 global O&M providers, who added 41 GW in 2025.
  • 13.5 GW: Portfolio size reached by Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy after recording 53% year-over-year growth.
  • #6 Global Ranking: Sterling & Wilson’s position among global solar O&M providers.
  • 12.2 GW: Sterling & Wilson’s market-leading portfolio in the Asia Pacific excluding China (APeC) region.

Global Market Consolidation and Regional Trends

According to Wood Mackenzie’s analysis tracking over 130 service vendors across global operating regions, market consolidation accelerated significantly during 2025. The top 15 global O&M vendors expanded their portfolios by a combined 41 GW to reach 200 GW, raising their total share of the assessed 348 GW global market to 57%. Based on these figures, the top 15 providers captured approximately 67% of the 61 GW annual market expansion. Vendor concentration is increasingly being driven by the technical demands of co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS) and centralized digital monitoring platforms, which favor scaled providers capable of managing complex, multi-gigawatt portfolios.

NovaSource Power Services retained its position as the world’s largest solar PV O&M provider for the sixth consecutive year, ending 2025 with 38.4 GW under management. NovaSource strengthened its global position through strategic international acquisitions, including First Solar’s Australian O&M business, which added approximately 500 MW to its fleet. Rounding out the global top five were RES Energy Global Services, SOLV Energy, Solarig Energy Services, and Recurrent Energy. Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy secured sixth place globally, while ENGIE delivered one of the year’s standout performances, climbing six spots to rank eighth globally after more than doubling its O&M fleet, driven by a 172% expansion in its Americas portfolio. Demonstrating that ranking mobility remains active despite tightening market concentration, BayWa r.e. Services and Origis Energy Services entered the global top 15 after adding 2.6 GW and 1.8 GW, respectively. Among second-tier providers, megaom—FRV’s standalone O&M entity—posted the highest growth rate in the report, expanding its portfolio by 243% to 3.8 GW and entering the global top 30 for the first time.

Regional market dynamics exhibited sharp economic divergences during the year, reflecting varying levels of development across major operating hubs. “The global O&M market is consolidating quickly around a core group of scaled providers, but the dynamics look very different depending on where you are,” said Khalif Ahmad Zikri, research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “In North America, a mature, competitive market is driving down costs while ISPs strengthen their dominance. In the Middle East and Africa, we are seeing a near-doubling of volume and a wave of new entrants chasing an underpenetrated opportunity.” In North America, intense competition among independent service providers pushed full-wrap O&M contract costs down by 18% year-over-year, whereas O&M volumes in the Middle East and Africa nearly doubled as rapid deployment created significant demand for specialized operational oversight.

Sterling & Wilson Portfolio Growth and Regional Leadership

Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy delivered a strong operational performance in 2025, recording a 53% year-over-year expansion in its O&M portfolio. The company’s managed capacity increased from 8.7 GW to 13.5 GW, elevating it to sixth position in the global vendor rankings. This expansion was spearheaded by its dominant standing in the Asia Pacific excluding China (APeC) region, where it leads the market with 12.2 GW under management.

Corporate reporting for FY2026 indicates that Sterling & Wilson’s portfolio growth coincided with order inflows reaching approximately ₹10,062 crore. To service its expanding fleet and enhance asset yields, the company is deploying advanced operational technologies across its operations, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, drone thermography, robotic cleaning, centralized monitoring, and automated testing. Additionally, the company is expanding its presence in the utility storage segment through high-capacity installations, including a 790 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Rajasthan.

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