Renewable energy is expected to surge for the rest of the decade, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

The world is likely to add enough solar, wind and other renewables between 2024 and 2030 to equal the current electricity generation capacity of the United States, China, the European Union and India combined.

What You Need To Know

  • Renewable energy is expected to surge for the rest of the decade, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency

  • The world is expected to add enough solar, wind and other renewables between 2024 and 2030 to equal the current electricity generation capacity of the United States, China, the European Union and India combined

  • Solar power will make up 80% of the growth in renewable capacity, driven by largescale solar power plants and rooftop solar installations by individual households as well as companies

  • China will make up almost 60% of renewable capacity globally by 2030

“Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets for,” IEA Executive Director Faith Birol said in a statement. “This is mainly driven not just by efforts to lower emissions or boost energy security. It’s increasingly because renewables today offer the cheapest option to add new power plants in almost all countries around the world.”

China will make up almost 60% of renewable capacity globally by 2030, according to the new report. Among major economies, India’s adoption of renewables is fastest.

Solar power will make up 80% of the growth in renewable capacity, driven by largescale solar power plants and rooftop solar installations by individual households as well as companies. Wind power is also expected to double over the next six years compared with the period from 2017 to 2023.

By 2030, renewables will meet about half of the world’s demand for electricity. 

IEA researchers noted that the rapid growth in renewables still falls short of the goal set by almost 200 governments at the COP28 climate change conference last December, when they agreed to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030. The IEA said the world is currently on track to reach 2.7 times the 2022 level by the end of the decade.

The report said the enormous growth in renewable electricity is not matched by renewables for transportation, such as biofuels, biogases, hydrogen and e-fuels, all of which can be used to offset fossil fuels. Those are currently on track for less than 6% of global supply by 2030.