Record amounts of green energy added to global grid in 2016

Madeleine Cuff
clock • 2 min read

Despite 23 per cent fall in global investment a record 161GW of new renewables capacity was added to power grid last year, new data shows

The world is still building new wind and solar farms at breakneck speed despite a slowdown in investment coming into the sector, new figures published today by REN21 reveal. A record 161GW of new clean...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Energy

Could Europe's renewables drive combat those hostile actors working to 'weaponise' energy supplies?

Could Europe's renewables drive combat those hostile actors working to 'weaponise' energy supplies?

Chatham House urges EU to seek 'fresh understanding' of energy security, as white paper warns against false assumption that defence spending alone can keep bloc safe

Stuart Stone
clock 27 January 2026 • 7 min read
'A national opportunity': Waste heat from data centres could warm 6.3 million UK homes

'A national opportunity': Waste heat from data centres could warm 6.3 million UK homes

Government urged to develop heat network infrastructure required to turn waste heat from data centres into low-cost heating for millions of households and businesses

clock 27 January 2026 • 4 min read
Transition Finance Council calls for increased investment in Long Duration Energy Storage sector

Transition Finance Council calls for increased investment in Long Duration Energy Storage sector

Transition Finance Council publishes roadmap outlining role of energy storage in supporting net zero transition and the growth of AI

clock 27 January 2026 • 4 min read