Global renewable electricity generation rose by 9.8% in 2024, lifting renewables to 31.7% of total power output worldwide, according to the latest IRENA statistics. The report also confirms record renewable capacity additions in 2025, highlighting both rapid progress and the scale of the challenge ahead.
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Renewables supplied nearly one-third of the world’s electricity in 2024
Global renewable electricity generation rose by 9.8% in 2024, lifting renewables to 31.7% of total power output worldwide, according to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The report also confirms record renewable capacity additions in 2025, highlighting both rapid progress and the scale of the challenge ahead.
Renewable electricity generation reaches a new milestone
According to the latest Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 published by IRENA, renewable electricity generation accounted for 31.7% of global electricity production in 2024. The report compiles renewable energy data covering the past decade, from 2016 through 2025, and highlights the accelerating transformation of power systems worldwide.
read also IRENA: Quadruple renewable energy investments, world behind on 75% of indicators
Renewable electricity generation: 2024 vs. 2023
IRENA’s latest report shows that renewable electricity generation increased by 9.8% in 2024, marking a significantly faster pace than the previous year. Globally, renewables generated 9,836 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, representing 31.7% of total electricity production.
By comparison, renewable electricity generation grew by 8.4% in 2023 compared with 2022, reaching 9,152 TWh, up from 8,440 TWh the previous year. Renewables’ share of global electricity generation increased from 29.1% in 2022 to 30.3% in 2023.
Meanwhile, non-renewable electricity generation continued to lose momentum in 2024, expanding by just 1.4% over the same period.
Renewable power capacity reached a record in 2025
The report also shows that annual renewable capacity additions have risen dramatically over the past 25 years, reaching a record 693 GW in 2025.
By the end of 2025, global renewable power capacity had climbed to a record 5,155 GW, approximately 5.2 TW. This represents 49.5% of total installed global electricity capacity, which reached 10.4 TW when non-renewable sources are included.
Renewable capacity expanded by 15.1% in 2025 compared with the previous year, well above the 11.9% average annual growth rate recorded between 2019 and 2024.
Renewables accounted for 85.7% of all new power capacity added in 2025, down from 92.7% in 2024. Despite the lower share, the continued expansion of installed renewable capacity confirms that clean energy deployment is still outpacing the growth of conventional generation.
Renewable electricity generation by region in 2024
The latest data confirm the continued dominance of solar and wind power in driving renewable electricity growth.
In absolute terms, Asia remained the world’s largest renewable electricity producer in 2024, generating 4,589 TWh, up 14.3% year over year. The region recorded particularly strong gains in both solar and wind generation.
Europe produced 1,758 TWh, a 7.2% increase, supported primarily by higher solar and hydropower output.
North America generated 1,535 TWh, up 5.8%, while South America produced 1,047 TWh, an increase of 2.9%.
The Middle East generated 76 TWh, but posted the world’s fastest regional growth rate at 17.3%.
Finally, Central America and the Caribbean produced 55 TWh, representing a 5.8% increase compared with the previous year.
The challenge for 2035
To achieve the global goal agreed at COP28, which calls for tripling installed renewable capacity to more than 11 TW by 2030, specifically 11.17 TW, IRENA estimates that the world still needs to deploy approximately 6.02 TW of additional renewable capacity.
Building on IRENA’s roadmap, the Turkish COP31 Presidency has announced a target of 35% global electrification of final energy demand by 2035.
The newly released electricity generation data indicate that meeting this objective would require increasing the share of renewables in global electricity generation from 31.7% in 2024 to 78% by 2035, meaning the current pace of renewable deployment would need to accelerate by approximately 2.5 times.
Read the full Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 report from IRENA.
