Capacity factor calculator
Capacity factor is the energy a plant produced divided by what it would have produced at full rated power for the whole period: CF = E / (P × h).
Data as of October 14, 2026
Advanced
Solar only. Installed DC capacity divided by AC capacity.
Capacity factor
25.0%
219,000 MWh from 100 MW over 8,760 h
On a DC basis (ILR 1.2): 20.8%
Fleet averages derived from Ember data; the year is shown with each value. National solar figures use reported capacity, often DC, so compare with the DC line when the plant capacity is AC.
Method and data
Formula
CF = E / (P × h) E = CF × P × h CF_DC = CF_AC / ILR
Worked example
| Case | Energy | Hours | Capacity factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full year 2025 | 219,000 MWh | 8,760 | 25.0% |
| Same plant, leap year 2024 | 219,000 MWh | 8,784 | 24.9% |
| Same plant, July 2025 | 12,000 MWh | 744 | 16.1% |
| Country | Solar CF | Wind CF | Hydro CF | Nuclear CF | Gas CF | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 12.8% | 22.2% | 41.9% | 89.8% | 25.7% | 2025 |
| United States | 22.8% | 34.0% | 32.8% | 92.5% | 37.7% | 2025 |
| India | 19.0% | 23.1% | 42.0% | 72.4% | 19.1% | 2025 |
| Germany | 10.4% | 20.1% | 37.3% | - | 29.4% | 2025 |
| Japan | 12.7% | 24.2% | 29.8% | 32.5% | 47.1% | 2025 |
| Brazil | 17.5% | 39.6% | 40.3% | 91.0% | 33.6% | 2025 |
| Spain | 16.9% | 20.5% | 22.3% | 86.8% | 25.6% | 2025 |
| Australia | 16.7% | 28.1% | 18.1% | - | 20.9% | 2025 |
| Italy | 13.3% | 18.5% | 24.7% | - | 25.0% | 2025 |
| South Korea | 15.1% | 17.7% | 23.8% | 80.9% | 39.7% | 2025 |
| France | 12.9% | 23.2% | 27.9% | 72.9% | 11.2% | 2025 |
| Netherlands | 12.8% | 32.8% | - | 89.2% | 36.0% | 2025 |
| Poland | 9.5% | 26.4% | 19.6% | - | 58.9% | 2025 |
| Türkiye | 18.6% | 32.5% | 20.3% | - | 33.2% | 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 10.9% | 30.0% | 28.2% | 70.6% | 27.4% | 2025 |
| Vietnam | 15.8% | 24.1% | 43.3% | - | 33.2% | 2024 |
| Taiwan | 12.4% | 32.6% | 29.6% | 97.3% (2024) | 78.3% | 2025 |
| Mexico | 24.1% | 32.5% | 25.6% | 72.0% | 54.4% | 2025 |
| Chile | 21.9% | 24.9% | 29.8% | - | 30.9% | 2025 |
| South Africa | 21.9% | 33.3% | 27.9% | 60.4% | - | 2025 |
| Belgium | 11.9% | 26.7% | 51.9% | 91.7% | 29.8% | 2025 |
| Greece | 13.0% | 24.9% | 11.2% | - | 40.8% | 2025 |
| Austria | 12.1% | 22.7% | 28.1% | - | 19.9% | 2025 |
| Switzerland | 10.7% | 15.2% | 24.2% | 74.6% | 14.0% | 2025 |
| Hungary | 16.2% | 21.2% | - | 90.5% | 22.0% | 2025 |
The last column is the year of the ranked technology. A year in brackets means another technology's latest year differs; a dash means no data. National solar figures use reported capacity, often DC, so compare on a DC basis when the plant capacity is AC. Generation divided by the mean of year-start and year-end capacity times the hours in the year; latest year per country and source; mean capacity of at least 0.1 GW; values older than 2 years before the latest data year are dropped; fleets with no capacity at year end are dropped; values outside a plausible range for their source (Solar: 5% to 35%, Wind: 8% to 60%, Hydro: 5% to 95%, Nuclear: 20% to 98%, Gas: 2% to 95%, Coal: 2% to 95%, and Bioenergy: 5% to 90%) are omitted, never clamped.
| Country | Solar CF | Wind CF | Hydro CF | Nuclear CF | Gas CF | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 12.8% | 22.2% | 41.9% | 89.8% | 25.7% | 2025 |
| United States | 22.8% | 34.0% | 32.8% | 92.5% | 37.7% | 2025 |
| Germany | 10.4% | 20.1% | 37.3% | - | 29.4% | 2025 |
| India | 19.0% | 23.1% | 42.0% | 72.4% | 19.1% | 2025 |
| Brazil | 17.5% | 39.6% | 40.3% | 91.0% | 33.6% | 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 10.9% | 30.0% | 28.2% | 70.6% | 27.4% | 2025 |
| Spain | 16.9% | 20.5% | 22.3% | 86.8% | 25.6% | 2025 |
| France | 12.9% | 23.2% | 27.9% | 72.9% | 11.2% | 2025 |
| Canada | 19.8% | 33.4% | 47.0% | 76.9% | 49.0% | 2025 |
| Sweden | 9.8% | 25.9% | 47.8% | 76.6% | 5.5% | 2025 |
| Australia | 16.7% | 28.1% | 18.1% | - | 20.9% | 2025 |
| Türkiye | 18.6% | 32.5% | 20.3% | - | 33.2% | 2025 |
| Italy | 13.3% | 18.5% | 24.7% | - | 25.0% | 2025 |
| Netherlands | 12.8% | 32.8% | - | 89.2% | 36.0% | 2025 |
| Poland | 9.5% | 26.4% | 19.6% | - | 58.9% | 2025 |
| Finland | 8.0% | 29.0% | 44.3% | 85.7% | 7.5% | 2025 |
| Denmark | 11.6% | 30.7% | - | - | 11.5% (2024) | 2025 |
| Mexico | 24.1% | 32.5% | 25.6% | 72.0% | 54.4% | 2025 |
| Japan | 12.7% | 24.2% | 29.8% | 32.5% | 47.1% | 2025 |
| Vietnam | 15.8% | 24.1% | 43.3% | - | 33.2% | 2024 |
| Belgium | 11.9% | 26.7% | 51.9% | 91.7% | 29.8% | 2025 |
| Portugal | 15.8% | 27.9% | 20.7% | - | 23.0% | 2025 |
| Greece | 13.0% | 24.9% | 11.2% | - | 40.8% | 2025 |
| Chile | 21.9% | 24.9% | 29.8% | - | 30.9% | 2025 |
| Norway | 7.2% | 30.0% | 47.8% | - | 31.2% | 2025 |
Assumptions
- A year has 8,760 hours, or 8,784 in a leap year; a month has 24 hours for each calendar day.
- Capacity is the rated capacity on the same basis as the energy: AC capacity for energy metered on the AC side.
- Energy and capacity belong to the same plant and the same period. Capacity that changed during the period needs a time-weighted average.
- The national figures are fleet averages, not forecasts for a single plant. The year shown beside each value is the latest year with data.
Ember Yearly Electricity Data · Licence: CC BY 4.0 · Data as of October 14, 2026
Definition: Capacity Factor
Definition: Performance Ratio
Tera Intelligence maps the plants and grids behind these fleet averages, so a capacity factor can be read against the neighbouring assets. Explore the map
Questions
- What is a good capacity factor?
- It depends on the technology, so compare like with like. In 2025, Germany's solar fleet ran at 10.4%, its wind fleet at 20.1% and its gas fleet at 29.4%. Across countries, the middle 80% of solar fleets sit between 8% and 25%. Baseload technologies run far higher: France's nuclear fleet was at 72.9% in 2025. A low factor is not always poor performance, because a peaking gas plant is dispatched only when the grid needs it.
- What is the difference between capacity factor and availability?
- Availability is the share of time a plant is able to generate. Capacity factor is the energy it actually produced as a share of the maximum possible at full rated power. A plant can be available almost all of the time and still have a modest capacity factor, because a solar plant cannot run at night and a gas plant runs only when it is dispatched. Capacity factor therefore reflects the weather, dispatch and curtailment as well as outages.
- Why is a solar capacity factor lower on a DC basis?
- Solar plants are usually built with more DC panel capacity than AC inverter capacity, and the ratio is the inverter loading ratio (ILR). The same energy divided by a larger DC capacity gives a smaller factor: CF_DC = CF_AC / ILR. With an ILR of 1.2, a plant at 25.0% on an AC basis is at 20.8% on a DC basis. Always state the basis, and check which one a capacity figure uses before comparing it with a benchmark such as Germany's 10.4%.
- How are the national benchmarks calculated?
- For each country and technology, the year's generation is divided by the mean of year-start and year-end capacity times the hours in the year, using the latest year with data. Germany's solar fleet of 98.7 GW gives 10.4% for 2025. Very small fleets and fleets retired by year end are left out, values outside a plausible range for the technology (for solar, 5% to 35%) are omitted rather than clamped, and values that are too old are dropped, so the latest year can differ from one technology to another. The inputs are Ember Yearly Electricity Data (CC BY 4.0); the factors are derived by Tera Intelligence.
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