Renewable Energy Gains Momentum Across the World

Renewable energy continues to grow its share of the global electricity grid, with hydropower in the lead and solar and wind closing in on its tail – and accelerating that growth is proving key to halting global warming, and completely phasing out the production and use of fossil fuels.

“This continued progress is another testament of renewable energy’s resilience,” says Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General. “Renewable power should become the norm across the globe. We must mobilize the political will to accelerate the 1.5°C pathway.”

By the end of 2021, a grand total of 3,064 Gigawatt (GW) was produced, increasing the stock of renewable power by 9.1%. Hydropower has the top spot with a total of 1,230 GW of renewable generation capacity. Combined, solar and wind contributed to 88% of the share of all new renewable energy in 2021 – the former with 19% and the latter with 13%. Asia added 60% of the global capacity, bringing the grand total to 1.46 Terawatt (TW). China added 121 GW, while Europe and North America added respectively 39 GW and 38 GW. Massive investments and international cooperation are now needed in regions where growth needs to accelerate, such as in Africa, where renewable energy capacity grew by 3.9%, and Central America and the Caribbean, where the same capacity grew by 3.3%.