Adiciones REN

The twin challenges of i) secure energy supply and ii) climate targets have propelled REN energy sources (basically solar & wind power) into a new phase of growth.  Global REN capacity increased by 585 GW in 2024 (15.1 %) (793 GW, in 2025 (11% vs 2024), PV driving 83% of growth [RP, 2026]), bringing the world to a cumulative installed capacity of 4,448 GW.  Specific growths in 2024 were [IRENA, 2025]:

  

• 452 GW (+32,2%) of PV was installed globally in 2024, bringing cumulative PV installs to 1,865 GW (China alone added 278 GW).

• 113 GW (165 GW in 2025, GWEC, 2026) of new WIND capacity was connected to power grids in 2024, bringing total installed wind capacity to 1,133 GW (1,299 GW in 2025, GWEC, 2026), a growth of 13% compared with 2023.

• 4.6 GW of BIOENERGY (biopower) installed capacity was added in 2022 (8.1 GW in 2021).  Global capacity of bioenergy reached nearly 151 GW in 2024.

• 24.6 GW of new HYDROPOWER capacity was added, maintaining hydropower as a backbone of the global REN energy system (1,283 GW total).

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Both solar & wind contributed 97% to the share of all new REN capacity in 2024.  At the global level, solar capacity led with 32% increase, followed by wind energy, which increased its gen capacity by 11% [IRENA, 2025].  Figure 1 shows projected changes in global electricity generation from 2022 to 2025 [GWEC, 2023].

  

The cheapest REN power projects in 2024 can be found in China, achieving levelized cost (LCOE) of USD 34/MWh for best-in-class onshore wind farms, USD 79/MWh for offshore wind, and USD 43/MWh for fixed-axis PV farms [IRENA, 2025].  Figure 2 shows global weighted average total installed cost for REN (2010 to 2018) and projected percentile ranges, while Figure 3 shows LCOE of electricity bench (H2-2009 to H1-2023).

  

Asia growth

 

The growth of renewables is persistently concentrated in a few countries and regions like Asia, the U.S., and Europe.  Almost half of all new capacity in 2024 was added in Asia, resulting in a total of 2.4 TW of REN capacity.  China led the way, adding 370 GW to the continent’s new capacity [ENERDATA, 2025].