NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – According to the Global renewable power capacity reached 5.15 terawatts at the close of 2025, marking another record-breaking year of expansion. The world’s renewable capacity grew by 693 gigawatts during the year. The International Renewable Energy Agency emphasized that annual additions need to average approximately 1,200 GW through 2030. This pace is essential to meet the global goal of installing 11.2 TW of renewable power capacity by the end of the decade.
This objective is part of the UAE Consensus adopted at COP28 in Dubai. Nearly 200 nations endorsed efforts to triple global renewable capacity and double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The latest evaluation assesses progress against both targets using 2025 data. It was prepared with the COP31 Presidency of Türkiye and the Global Renewables Alliance and unveiled during Climate Week NYC.
Renewable capacity saw an increase of over 15.5% in 2025, continuing the rapid growth trend of recent years. Global additions reached about 582 GW in 2024 before rising to 693 GW in 2025. The previous annual assessment indicated that roughly 1,122 GW needed to be added each year from 2025 to 2030. The current requirement has been revised upward to about 1,200 GW annually, as the remaining period to achieve the target has shortened.
Significant Rise in Grid Investment Needed
The assessment states that electricity networks and system flexibility will require nearly $1 trillion in annual investments from 2026 through 2030. In 2025, global spending in these sectors totaled around $525 billion. Additionally, approximately 2,500 GW of advanced renewable, storage, and large electricity projects are awaiting grid connections worldwide. The report highlights transmission, distribution, battery storage, and digital systems as crucial infrastructure to support increased renewable electricity deployment.
Between 2024 and 2025, battery storage costs fell about 30%, and they have decreased approximately 95% compared to 2010 levels. Solar projects combined with storage are becoming more prominent in new power developments. In 2025, around one-quarter of utility-scale solar installations were designed to provide round-the-clock renewable electricity. IRENA further reported that over 90% of new utility-scale renewable projects commissioned last year produced electricity at costs below those of the cheapest new fossil-fuel alternatives.
Progress in Energy Efficiency Continues to Lag
In 2025, global energy intensity improved by roughly 2%, short of the approximately 4% annually needed under the UAE Consensus pathway. The goal aims to double the current average annual rate of global energy efficiency improvement by 2030. The assessment attributes this slower pace to increased electrification and broader adoption of efficient electrical technologies, linking faster efficiency gains to more resilient grids, additional storage, and more adaptable electricity systems.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged for quicker action on energy transition obstacles and increased investment in developing economies. IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera noted that while renewable deployment has progressed, grid development and energy efficiency remain below desired levels. The global capacity target remains at 11.2 TW by 2030. With 693 GW added in 2025, last year’s growth is still 507 GW short of the average annual addition needed through the end of the decade to meet that goal.