IRENA: Renewables provided 80 per cent of new global power capacity in 2021

Cecilia Keating
clock • 2 min read
A wind and solar plant in Japan | Credit: iStock
Image:

A wind and solar plant in Japan | Credit: iStock

Clean energy now comprises 38 per cent of global power capacity after another record year of additions driven largely by wind and solar, latest figures reveal

Solar and wind power continued their rapid expansion around the globe in 2021, pushing global renewable energy capacity to record levels, according to fresh figures from the International Renewable Energy...

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 Wind

'Just the beginning': Number of wind turbines installed rose 23 per cent in 2025

'Just the beginning': Number of wind turbines installed rose 23 per cent in 2025

Over 28,000 new wind turbines installed globally last year at an average of around one every 20 minutes, Global Wind Energy Council finds

Stuart Stone
clock 15 May 2026 • 4 min read
Government green lights 4GW of North Sea offshore wind projects

Government green lights 4GW of North Sea offshore wind projects

RWE and Masdar given Development Consent Orders to develop two 1.5GW offshore wind farms capable of collectively powering three million UK homes a year

Michael Holder
clock 14 May 2026 • 3 min read
Offshore wind: Crown Estate offers up further £15m for UK supply chain projects

Offshore wind: Crown Estate offers up further £15m for UK supply chain projects

Britain's seabed manager launches third funding round for its offshore wind Supply Chain Accelerator

Michael Holder
clock 13 May 2026 • 2 min read