Renewable energy drives 90% global power growth in 2024, adding records 585GW.

Global renewable energy capacity has surged to a record high in 2024, with 585 gigawatts (GW) of new additions, accounting for more than 90 percent of total power expansion worldwide, according to the latest industry data.

The rapid growth was primarily driven by solar, hydropower and wind energy, which made up the bulk of new installations, according to the Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The report showed a massive increase in renewable power capacity during 2024, reaching 4,448 GW. The 585 GW addition last year indicates a 92.5 percent share of the total capacity expansion and a record rate of annual growth of 15.1 percent.

However, IRENA stated that even though 2024 marked yet another benchmark in renewable energy capacity and growth, progress still falls short of the 11.2 terawatts needed to align with the global goal to triple installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.

In addition, progress yet again reflects significant geographic disparities. As in previous years, most of the increase occurred in Asia, with the greatest share being contributed by China—almost 64 percent of the global added capacity—while Central America and the Caribbean contributed the least at only 3.2 percent.

Source: Businessday