The world added more renewable energy in 2025 C.E. than in any previous year, pushing total global renewable power capacity past 5,100 gigawatts and crossing the 49% threshold of all installed power capacity for the first time in recorded history. The milestone, reported by the International Renewable Energy Agency, signals that clean energy is no longer a niche alternative — it is the dominant force shaping how the world builds new power systems.
At a glance
- Renewable energy capacity: Total global installed capacity reached 5,149 GW in 2025 C.E., after a single-year addition of 692 GW — a 15.5% annual increase.
- Solar power growth: Solar led all technologies, adding 511 GW and accounting for roughly 75% of all new renewable capacity added during the year.
- Renewables share of additions: Clean energy sources made up 85.6% of all new power capacity added globally in 2025 C.E., leaving fossil fuels and nuclear to account for less than 15%.
Why this year felt different
Numbers alone don’t capture the significance of this moment. For decades, renewable energy advocates argued that clean power could eventually outpace fossil fuels in new capacity additions. That argument is no longer theoretical.
Solar and wind together accounted for 96.8% of all net renewable additions in 2025 C.E. — a figure that reflects not just enthusiasm but economics. Both technologies have seen the steepest cost declines of any energy source over the past 20 years, and that cost advantage is now being felt at scale in construction pipelines worldwide.
IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera noted that the expansion reflects something beyond market preference. “A more decentralised energy system, with a growing share of renewables and more market players, is structurally more resilient,” he said. “Countries that invested in the energy transition are weathering this crisis with less economic damage, as they boost energy security, resilience and competitiveness.” That geopolitical framing matters: as tensions in the Middle East renewed concerns about fossil fuel supply chains, homegrown renewable sources offered countries a degree of insulation that imported fuels cannot.
Where growth is happening — and where it isn’t
Asia drove the numbers in a way that is difficult to overstate. The region contributed 74.2% of all new renewable capacity, adding 513.3 GW and growing at a rate of 21.6% in a single year. China alone continues to install more solar and wind capacity than most continents combined, though other Asian economies are rapidly expanding their own pipelines.
Africa recorded its highest-ever annual capacity increase, rising 15.9% with 11.3 GW of new additions. Ethiopia, South Africa, and Egypt led that growth — a meaningful signal that the continent is beginning to build the clean energy infrastructure its populations have long needed. The Middle East posted its largest annual growth rate yet, at 28.9%, driven significantly by Saudi Arabia.
Europe held second place globally in total installed capacity at 934 GW, while Central America and the Caribbean remain the region with the lowest renewables base at just 21 GW total — a gap that the International Energy Agency has identified as a critical energy access challenge for small island and developing states.
The unfinished work
This report is genuinely encouraging, but IRENA is careful not to overstate the finish line. The World Energy Transitions Outlook has consistently shown that reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 C.E. requires roughly tripling current renewable capacity by that date — meaning 2025 C.E.’s record additions still fall short of the pace needed. The disparities between regions also remain stark: high-income countries and China are pulling ahead while many lower-income nations, particularly in Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, lack the financing and grid infrastructure to accelerate at comparable rates.
Wind energy added 159 GW in 2025 C.E., a strong showing, though offshore wind development — considered critical for dense urban coastlines — continues to face permitting and supply chain delays in several major markets. Bioenergy, third among renewables, grew by just 2.3%, adding 3.4 GW, a reminder that not all clean energy sources are scaling at the same pace.
What the record means for energy security
One of the quieter arguments for renewable energy has always been its relationship to national sovereignty. Unlike oil or natural gas, solar panels and wind turbines don’t require international shipping lanes or diplomatic agreements to keep running. Countries that built out their renewable base over the past decade found themselves better positioned in 2025 C.E. when geopolitical volatility pushed fossil fuel prices upward again.
That dynamic is now visible in the data. The 85.6% share of renewables in new capacity additions isn’t just an environmental story — it’s a story about which kinds of energy systems governments and investors believe will be reliable and affordable over the next 20 years. The answer, at least in 2025 C.E., was overwhelmingly clean.
Whether that momentum holds through the financing pressures, grid integration challenges, and political headwinds that remain ahead will define the next chapter. For now, the milestone stands: nearly half of all installed power capacity on Earth now comes from renewable sources, and the number is still climbing.
Read more
For more on this story, see: IRENA press release
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- Global suicide rate has fallen by 40% since 1995
- The Good News for Humankind archive on renewable energy
About this article
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