Renewables now make up 32% of global electricity generation
Renewable energy, sourced from replenishable natural resources like sunlight, wind, and geothermal heat, is pivotal in electricity generation, heating, cooling, and transportation. It offers off-grid solutions for remote areas, produces minimal greenhouse gases, and enhances energy security due to its wide geographical distribution. As global efforts to mitigate climate change intensify, the shift to low-carbon energy, led by renewables, is accelerating. Technologies such as solar PV and wind are becoming cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Increasing the renewable share in energy systems involves electrifying heating and transport sectors, using biofuels, and deploying solar water heating, biomass burners, and geothermal heating. Achieving climate goals requires rapid renewable energy deployment across all sectors, supported by favourable policies and market conditions.
View our dedicated Collection on the A-Z of the Energy Transition.
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0.0GW
total global installed capacity of solar in 2024, compared to 1,135 GW of wind (Statistical Review of World Energy)
0
was the first year that solar electricity generation surpassed coal in the European Union (Statistical Review of World Energy)
0%
share of total global generation from wind and solar in 2024 (Statistical Review of World Energy)
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million households in the UK (or equivalent) were powered by wind energy in 2024 (RenewableUK)
New Energy World stories
Electricity grid constraints found to be the limiting factor in India’s renewables boom
10th November 2026
India’s installed renewable power capacity has almost quadrupled over the past decade, cementing the country’s position as the world’s second-fastest-...
Cooling demand to outpace EV and AI growth by 2040
10th November 2026
The report suggests that global electricity demand is growing fast, driven by a race to decarbonise. Yet greenhouse gas emissions are not decreasing f...
UK Energy Independence Bill sets out consumer debt relief and cracks down on energy brokers
10th November 2026
The bill is said to reinforce regulatory protections and tackle systemic market issues to clean up the domestic grid. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stat...
Hams Hall BESS enters operation as Europe’s largest by storage capacity
10th November 2026
Located next to the Hams Hall substation in North Warwickshire, the project adds 350MW/1,243MWh of storage capacity to the UK electricity system. BW E...
At nearly 11GW capacity, one of the world’s biggest renewable energy parks is expected to nearly triple in size by 2029
3rd November 2026
The Khavda site capacity is up from 7.1GW a year ago. In that time, it added 2,568MW of solar, 666MW of wind, 3,081MWh of battery storage and 321MW of...
Technical guidance publications
EI 3656
SafetyOn Safe by Design workshop report: Falls from height
November 2026
EI 3656 SafetyOn Safe by Design workshop report: Falls from height explores how technology could reduce or eliminate risks associated with falls from ...
EI 3652
Human factors in valve criticality analysis
October 2026
This guidance has been prepared by the Energy Institute (EI), drawing on the expertise of human factors engineering (HFE) specialists, process safety ...
EI 3604
Embedding circularity across the life cycle of assets
July 2026
EI 3604 Embedding circularity across the lifecycle of assets helps companies integrate circular economy principles into every stage of an asset’s life...
EI 3637
SafetyOn 2025 Onshore wind health and safety incident data report
June 2026
EI 3637 SafetyOn 2025 Onshore wind health and safety incident data report presents the analysis of health and safety incident data submitted by Safety...
EI 3640
G+ 2025 incident data report
June 2026
The G+ 2025 incident data report examines the patterns behind health and safety performance of offshore wind projects among G+ members.This year saw c...