Despite rising costs for key materials used to make solar panels and wind turbines, new renewable power capacity is forecast to rise to 290 gigawatts (GW) this year, surpassing the previous all-time high set last year.
By 2026, global renewable electricity capacity is forecast to rise more than 60 per cent from 2020 levels to over 4,800GW – equivalent to the current total global power capacity of fossil fuels and nuclear combined.
Furthermore, the IEA anticipates that renewables will account for almost 95 per cent of the increase in global power capacity through to 2026, with solar PV alone providing more than half.
The amount of renewable capacity added over the period of 2021 to 2026 is expected to be 50 per cent higher than from 2015 to 2020, largely driven by stronger support from governments following the COP26 climate change conference.
“This year’s record renewable electricity additions of 290 gigawatts are yet another sign that a new global energy...