
The amount of renewable energy capacity added to energy systems around the world grew by 50% in 2023, reaching almost 510GW, with solar PV accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide, according to the IEA's Renewables 2023 report.
The largest growth took place in China, which commissioned as much solar PV in 2023 as the entire world did in 2022, while wind power additions in the country rose by 66% year-on-year, the report found. Increases in renewable energy capacity in Europe, the United States and Brazil also hit all-time highs.
The report shows that under existing policies and market conditions, global renewable power capacity is now expected to grow to 7300GW over the 2023-28 period covered by the forecast.
Solar PV and wind account for 95% of the expansion, with renewables overtaking coal to become the largest source of global electricity generation by early 2025.
But despite the unprecedented growth over the past 12 months, the world needs to go further to triple capacity by 2030, which countries agreed to do at COP28.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol, said: "The new IEA report shows that under current policies and market conditions, global renewable capacity is already on course to increase by two-and-a-half times by 2030. It’s not enough yet to reach the COP28 goal of tripling renewables, but we’re moving closer – and governments have the tools needed to close the gap. Onshore wind and solar PV are cheaper today than new fossil fuel plants almost everywhere and cheaper than existing fossil fuel plants in most countries. There are still some big hurdles to overcome, including the difficult global macroeconomic environment. For me, the most important challenge for the international community is rapidly scaling up financing and deployment of renewables in most emerging and developing economies, many of which are being left behind in the new energy economy. Success in meeting the tripling goal will hinge on this."
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