Arid and semi-arid climates are blessed with abundant sunshine, and photovoltaic (PV) modules are now widely used under these climatic conditions. The aim of this paper is to put into perspective the recent uses of solar PV installations under arid climates with the evolution of PV technologies. The novelty of this review is to present up-to-date experimental results under such climates, and to plot results of experiments running for about one year or more. The effect of environmental parameters such as weather or dust are analyzed depending on different locations and technologies. These parameters have a tremendous impact on PV modules performance and degradation, and it is critically important to consider them carefully when implementing a PV installation under such conditions. From this review, general conclusions and guidelines are presented.