Expansion of renewable energies at record level in 2024

Last year, the expansion of renewable energies reached a new record level. China played the leading role here, accounting for 64% of total new capacity. Electricity generation rose to around 4,450 gigawatts. However, the rate of expansion still needs to be increased in order to achieve the Paris climate targets by 2030.

With an expansion of 585 GW, renewable energies accounted for over 90% of total global electricity expansion in 2024. The report Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at the end of March shows a massive increase in electricity generation from renewable energies in 2024 to an impressive 4,448 gigawatts (GW). The addition of 585 GW in the previous year corresponds to a 92.5% share of total capacity expansion and a record annual growth rate (15.1%). The EU produced half of its electricity from renewable energies in 2024.

Progress falls short of target achievement

Although 2024 has set another benchmark in terms of renewable energy capacity and growth, progress falls short of the 11.2 terawatts needed to meet the global target of tripling installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. To achieve this target, annual renewable energy capacity growth must now increase by 16.6% per year until 2030 (compared to 15.1% in 2024).

In addition, progress is again characterized by considerable geographical disparities. As in previous years, Asia accounted for the majority of the increase, led by China, which contributed almost 64% of global capacity growth - followed by the EU in second place and the USA in third - while Central America and the Caribbean made the smallest contribution at just 3.2%. The G7 and G20 countries accounted for 14.3% and 90.3% of newly added capacity in 2024 respectively.

"Challenges remain the same"

Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA , sees the steady growth of renewable energies as a testimony to the fact that renewable energies are economically viable and can be deployed quickly. And warns: "Even though records are being broken year after year in the expansion of renewable energies, we still face the same challenges, namely the major regional inequalities and the ticking clock in view of the impending 2030 deadline."

Despite the slow pace of expansion, UN Secretary-General António Guterres still sees positives in the progress being made: "Renewable energies are bringing an end to the age of fossil fuels. Record growth is creating jobs, lowering electricity bills and ensuring cleaner air. Renewable energy is renewing the economy. However, the transition to clean energy must be faster and fairer - all countries must have the opportunity to benefit from cheap, clean renewable energy."

Solar and wind energy in the lead

Solar and wind energy continued to record the largest growth and together accounted for 96.6% of the total net expansion of renewable energy in 2024. More than three quarters of the capacity expansion was accounted for by solar energy, which increased by 32.2% to 1,865 GW, followed by wind energy with growth of 11.1%.

The extensive net decommissioning of power generation from non-renewable energies in a number of regions has contributed to the upward trend in renewable energies. However, more needs to be done to achieve the goal of tripling renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030 and the Paris Agreement.

Key facts about the individual technologies

• Solar energy: Photovoltaics increased by 451.9 GW in the previous year. China alone contributed 278 GW to the total expansion, followed by India (24.5 GW).
• Hydropower (excluding pumped hydropower): Hydropower reached a capacity of 1,283 GW, which corresponds to a noticeable recovery compared to 2023. This growth was driven by China. Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania and Vietnam each contributed more than 0.5 GW.
• Wind power: There was a slight decline in the expansion of wind power to a total of 1,133 GW at the end of 2024. Expansion was once again dominated by China and the USA.
• Bioenergy: Expansion recovered in 2024 with a capacity increase of 4.6 GW compared to the increase of 3.0 GW in 2023. Growth was driven by China and France with 1.3 GW each.
• Geothermal energy: Geothermal energy recorded an increase of 0.4 GW in total, led by New Zealand. It was followed by Indonesia, Turkey and the USA.
• Off-grid electricity (excluding Eurasia, Europe and North America): Capacity expansion almost tripled by 1.7 GW to 14.3 GW. Growth was dominated by off-grid solar energy, which reached 6.3 GW in 2024.

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The five most important facts on the expansion of renewable energies in 2024