The Renewables 2024 report, the IEA’s annual publication on the sector, finds that the world is set to add more than 5,500 GW of new renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 – almost three times the increase seen between 2017 and 2023.
According to the report, China is set to account for almost 60% of all renewable capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, based on current market trends and today's policy settings by governments. That would make China home to almost half of the world’s total renewable power capacity by the end of this decade, up from a share of a third in 2010. While China is adding the biggest volumes of renewables, India is growing at the fastest rate among major economies.
In terms of technologies, solar photovoltaic alone is forecast to account for 80% of the growth in global renewable capacity between now and 2030. Despite ongoing challenges, the wind sector is also poised for a recovery, with the rate of expansion doubling between 2024 and 2030 compared with the period between 2017 and 2023. Already, wind and solar photovoltaic are the cheapest options to add new electricity generation in almost every country.
As a result of these trends, nearly 70 countries that collectively account for 80% of global renewable power capacity are poised to reach or surpass their current renewable ambitions for 2030. The report forecasts global capacity will reach 2.7 times its 2022 level by 2030. Renewables are on course to generate almost half of global electricity by 2030, with the share of wind and solar photovoltaic doubling to 30%, according to the forecast.
