A record 500 GW of renewable energy capacity was added worldwide in 2023, according to new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IEA) released today. This marked an increase of 50% from 2022, and a significant acceleration from previous years.
The chart by the IEA below breaks down added capacity by source. Solar is main driver, standing for 75% of added capacity in 2023, with the largest growth occurring in China.
Given this strong pace, IEA projects that global renewable capacity will reach 7 300 GW by 2030, entailing a 2.5X growth by 2030 under current conditions and policies which is close to the COP28 goal of 3X.
Even in the IEAs conservative “Main case” scenario, almost 3 700 GW of new renewable capacity will be added over the next five years, compared to 1 500 GW from 2017-2022. Solar and wind (onshore and offshore) will together account for 95% of the expanded capacity. In an accellerated case, the capacity expansion could reach 4 500 GW over the next case
Over the next few years several milestones are expected to be reached in IEAs forecast, including:
- In early 2025, renewables to surpass coal as the world’s largest source of electricity generation.
- In 2028, renewable energy sources set to make up 42% of global electricity generation.
Read more:
- IEA, Renewables 2023