Renewables passed 49.4% of global electricity capacity in 2025
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It was a strong year for renewable power expansion in 2025, with solar installations helping push renewables to nearly half of global electricity capacity, but that does not mean the world is yet on pace to meet its renewable energy commitments.
Key facts
- Those additions totaled 692 GW in 2025, lifting installed renewable capacity by a record 15.5 percent year over year, IRENA noted
- World leaders pledged at COP28 in 2023 to triple installed renewable energy capacity to more than 11 TW by 2030
- The International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) 2026 Renewable Capacity Statistics report, published on Wednesday, found that renewables dominated new power additions last year, accounting
- Per IRENA's data, that aforementioned 85.6 percent share of new power capacity additions was a decrease from 2024, when renewables were about 92 percent of global capacity additions
Summary
The International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) 2026 Renewable Capacity Statistics report, published on Wednesday, found that renewables dominated new power additions last year, accounting for 85.6 percent of global capacity expansion. Those additions totaled 692 GW in 2025, lifting installed renewable capacity by a record 15.5 percent year over year, IRENA noted. For reference, it was only in 2023 that renewable energy sources crossed the threshold of generating 30 percent of the world's electricity. As IRENA notes renewable energy is back in the spotlight amid the US conflict in Iran causing a spike in fuel prices and energy (i.e., oil) instability.