Renewable Energy Growth Must Accelerate to 16.1% Annually to Meet 2030 Targets – Report

In 2022, renewable energy sources made up 29.1% of global electricity generation, totaling 8,440 TWh, while non-renewable sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and pumped storage, accounted for 70.9%, or 20,591 TWh. This brought the total global electricity generation to 29,031 TWh. Over the past decade, electricity generation increased annually by 2.4%, with renewables growing at 6.1% and non-renewables at 1.3%. Renewable electricity grew by 7.2% in 2022, driven mainly by solar and wind energy, which together made up 11.7% of the global electricity mix. To meet the target of 2030, a minimum annual growth rate of 16.1% is required.

Hydropower remains the largest source of renewable electricity, generating 4,330 TWh in 2022, a modest increase of 0.8% from the previous year. Wind energy generated 2,098 TWh, marking a 14.0% increase, while solar energy, the fastest-growing source, produced 1,294 TWh, a 25.6% rise. Bioenergy contributed 619 TWh, up by 1.5%, and geothermal energy added 97 TWh. Marine energy was close to 1 TWh.

By region, Asia led in renewable electricity generation with 3,749 TWh, a 9.3% increase driven by solar and hydropower. North America followed with 1,493 TWh, an 8.6% rise despite a drop in bioenergy. Europe generated 1,462 TWh, a slight decrease of 0.6%. South America saw an 11.9% increase to 940 TWh, due to a recovery in hydropower and increased solar energy. Eurasia produced 363 TWh, growing by 2.5%, with solar and wind compensating for declines in hydropower. Africa generated 205 TWh, a 3.5% growth, while Oceania’s generation rose by 14.1% to 125 TWh. Central America and the Caribbean generated 57 TWh, a 1.3% increase, and the Middle East produced 47 TWh, a significant rise of 16.9% due to new wind energy and expanding solar capacity.

In terms of electricity mix, South America led with 75.0% of its electricity from renewables, primarily hydropower. Europe followed with 40.5%, including a diverse mix of wind, hydropower, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal. Central America and the Caribbean, along with Oceania, each had around 38% of renewables. North America’s renewable share was 27.0%, while Asia’s was 26.2%. Eurasia had 23.5%, and Africa 22.8%. The Middle East lagged with just 3.4% from renewables.

The G20 and G7 countries generated slightly less renewable electricity than the global average of 29.1%, with 28.9% and 28.5%, respectively. The G20’s renewable electricity consisted of 46.3% hydropower, 28.4% wind, 16.5% solar, and 7.9% bioenergy. For the G7, it was 36.6% hydropower, 33.1% wind, 18.0% solar, and 9.5% bioenergy.

IRENA’s latest statistics include minor revisions to the 2023 renewable generating capacity, revised downwards by 5.2 GW to 3,865 GW. At the end of 2023, renewable capacity accounted for 43.0% of the global total capacity of 9.0 TW, an increase of 14.0% from 2022. Solar energy was the largest source of renewable capacity at 36.7%, followed by hydropower at 32.7%, wind energy at 26.3%, and bioenergy at 3.9%.

In 2023, renewable capacity additions peaked at 473 GW, marking a significant increase over the past 23 years. Renewable additions comprised 85.5% of total annual capacity additions, with non-renewables remaining below 80 GW annually since 2019.

However, to meet the global tripling target of 11.174 TW by 2030, the current growth rate is insufficient. If the historic growth rate of 10.0% continues, the world will achieve only 7.5 TW of renewables, missing the target by 3.7 TW. To meet the target, a minimum annual growth rate of 16.1% is required. Despite the unprecedented growth in 2023, there remains a shortfall, necessitating an increased growth rate of 16.4% over the next seven years to meet the target.

In heat generation, only 6.3% came from renewable sources in 2022, with bioenergy holding the largest share. Europe leads in renewable heat generation, while Asia and the Americas lag significantly behind.