Global renewable power capacity is on track to double by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said, with nearly 60% of the growth projected to come from China, whose record-setting expansion in clean technologies contrasts with slowing progress in the United States and other major economies. The Renewables 2025 report, the IEA’s latest forecast, predicts a 4,600 gigawatt increase in global renewable power capacity by 2030, equivalent to the combined power generation of China, the European Union and Japan. “The growth in global renewable capacity in the coming years will be dominated by solar PV, but with wind, hydropower, bio-energy and geothermal all contributing, too,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
Solar photovoltaics are on course to account for some 80% of the increase in the world’s renewable capacity over the next five years, Birol said. The IEA report noted that China’s policy change – a shift from long-term fixed tariffs to auctions – led to an unprecedented solar photovoltaics and wind power boom in the first half of 2025, but the pace of expansion in the second half remains uncertain. The goal of China’s new policy is to achieve market-driven growth for renewables and facilitate their grid integration, the report said. Largely driven by the solar PV and wind power boom, China’s renewable capacity additions are forecast to reach nearly 465 GW in 2025, the highest ever for any country, with an accelerated case projecting up to 509 GW if market and policy conditions align.
Compared with last year, the forecast for the U.S. was revised down by almost 50%, reflecting several policy changes, including the early phasing out of federal tax incentives, new import restrictions, the suspension of new offshore wind leasing, and restricting onshore wind and solar PV projects on federal land. In the European Union, annual capacity additions are expected to decline 1% in 2025 compared with 2024. Overall, the outlook for global renewable capacity growth for 2025-30 was revised downward slightly by 5% compared with last year, the IEA said. “Nonetheless, China continues to account for nearly 60% of global renewable capacity growth and is on track to reach its recently announced 2035 wind and solar targets five years ahead of schedule, extending its track record of early delivery,” according to the IEA, as reported by the China Daily.
