The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) last week released its Renewable Energy Statistics 2025 report, revealing that although global renewable energy capacity grew by over 15% in 2024, Africa’s new capacity expanded by only 7.2%—despite the continent’s vast renewable energy potential.
In 2024, approximately 71% of new renewable energy capacity came from Asia—primarily China—followed by Europe (12.3%) and North America (7.8%). In contrast, Africa, Eurasia, Central America, and the Caribbean collectively accounted for just 2.8% of total capacity additions, highlighting a significant disparity.
“The renewable energy boom is transforming global energy markets, driving economies and creating vast investment opportunities. However, the growing regional divide highlights that not everyone is benefiting equally from this transition. Countries and regions that attract substantial investment in renewables are seeing enhanced energy security, increased industrial activity, and new jobs, fueling broader socioeconomic development,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera.
“Bridging the divide and closing the investment gap between countries and regions is critical. It requires targeted policies, international financing, and partnerships that unlock capital and technology where they are needed most. By aligning investment flows with policy frameworks, we can ensure that the green transition becomes a powerful engine for resilience and sustainable economic growth worldwide,” added La Camera.
IRENA says although the 582 GW of renewable capacity added in 2024 represented a record annual increase, it still falls short of the pace required to reach the global tripling target of 11.2 TW by 2030.
If the same annual growth rate continues, the world will only reach 10.3 TW of renewables capacity, missing the target by 0.9 TW. Achieving the target by 2030 would require renewable capacity to expand even faster at 16.6% annually in less than the remaining five years.
The renewables capacity trend also reveals the dominance of solar and wind power. Both have jointly accounted for 97.5% of all net renewables additions in 2024, with solar increasing by 453 GW. This proves the economic competitiveness of solar energy; providing business opportunities and energy security quickly and sustainably.
Wind energy is following behind with 114 GW of total renewables capacity addition. With renewables now catching up with fossil fuels in the share of installed capacity (46.2% of renewables vs 47.3% of fossil fuels), the case of renewables being a smart investment that creates jobs and drives sustainable growth has become stronger.
The report also shows the continuous growth of renewable power generation, driven by solar and wind energy. Renewable electricity grew by 5.6% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching 8 928 terawatts hour. Meanwhile, non-renewable power grew by only 1.2% in 2023 compared to 2022. As such, renewable energy sources accounted for almost 30% of global electricity generation by 2023.
