Renewables will grow at ‘fastest pace’ in 5 years as capacity jumped 50% in 2023: IEA

Renewables will grow at ‘fastest pace’ in 5 years as capacity jumped 50% in 2023: IEA

The next five years will see the fastest growth yet in the renewable energy space as the world increased renewable capacity by 50% in 2023 year-on-year (YoY), the International Energy Agency said in a report on Thursday. “The world’s capacity to generate renewable electricity is expanding faster than at any time in the last three decades, giving it a real chance of achieving the goal of tripling global capacity by 2030 that governments set at the COP28 climate change conference last month,” the report added. Renewable energy capacity reached 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, with solar photovoltaic (PV) accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide. The largest growth took place in China, which commissioned as much solar PV in 2023 as the entire world did in 2022, while China’s wind power additions rose by 66% YoY. The increases in renewable energy capacity in Europe, the US and Brazil also hit all-time highs. The latest analysis is the first comprehensive assessment of global renewable energy deployment trends since the conclusion of the COP28 conference in Dubai in December. The report found that global renewable power capacity is now expected to grow to 7,300 GW over the 2023-28 period. Solar PV and wind