Renewable Generation Marks a Historic Record in Clean Energy

Electricity generation from renewable sources reached its highest growth rate in recent history in 2024, consolidating its advance over fossil fuels. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 , clean energy production increased by 9.8% during the last year, well above the 1.4% recorded by non-renewable technologies.

Thanks to this performance, renewable energies accounted for 31.7% of all electricity generated worldwide , with a production of 9836 TWh , driven mainly by the expansion of solar and wind power.

The data also show that the deployment of renewables continues to accelerate. In 2025, global installed capacity reached a record 693 GW added in a single year, raising global renewable capacity to 5.2 TW , equivalent to 49.5% of all installed electricity capacity on the planet.

However, IRENA warns that this growth is still insufficient to meet international decarbonization targets. To achieve the goal of electricity covering 35% of final energy demand by 2035 , the share of renewables in electricity generation must increase from the current 31.7% to 78% , roughly doubling in the next decade.

Asia leads the growth, but the Middle East registers the biggest jump

The report confirms that Asia was once again the main driver of global renewable growth, generating 4589 TWh , 14.3% higher than the previous year thanks to the strong development of solar and wind power.

Europe produced 1758 TWh , an increase of 7.2% , while North America reached 1535 TWh (+5.8%) and South America reached 1047 TWh (+2.9%).

Although its absolute volume remains small, the Middle East recorded the world’s largest percentage growth, with a 17.3% increase in renewable generation.

Africa increased its production by 5.7% , Eurasia by 11.9% , Oceania by 3.4% , and Central America and the Caribbean by 5.8% .

“The growing support for global electrification reflects the shared recognition that clean electricity strengthens energy security, resilience, and competitiveness. This will require renewable electricity generation to expand at an unprecedented rate over the next decade, roughly 2.5 times the current level,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera.

“The technologies are available and the profitability is attractive. Now we must transition rapidly from fossil fuels to clean electricity in buildings, transport and industry,” he added.

The United Nations also highlighted that the recorded growth confirms that the energy transition continues to gain momentum, although they insisted that increased climate finance will be necessary to ensure that this progress reaches developing countries more quickly.

Although in 2025 renewables accounted for 85.7% of all new installed electricity capacity , compared to 92.7% a year earlier, IRENA concludes that the structural trend remains: renewable technologies continue to expand at a much faster rate than conventional sources and consolidate their leading role in the global energy mix.

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