The pipeline of prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew by a fifth last year, but the world’s richest countries account for only a fraction of new construction, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
The Global Solar Power Tracker and Global Wind Power Tracker include all projects that have been announced, entered pre-construction, or are currently under construction for solar capacity over 1 megawatt (MW) and utility-scale wind capacity over 10 MW.
During 2024, prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew to 4.4 TW. Utility-scale solar and wind are largely equal in their prospective development, with 2 TW and 2.5 TW, respectively.
China has the largest prospective capacity for both utility-scale solar and wind, with over 1.3 TW — over a quarter of all prospective capacity globally — followed by Brazil (417 gigawatts (GW)), Australia (372 GW), the U.S. (218 GW), and Spain (144 GW).
India targets adding nearly 130 GW of prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity in the upcoming years, and 35 GW of these additions will be connected to the grid by March 2025. In the past year, India’s prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew by 50%, signalling a shift in renewables planning.
But G7 countries, who own a 45% share of global gross domestic product, are currently building just 59 GW of utility-scale solar and wind capacity. This amount is dwarfed by China, which is responsible for more than 70% of current construction on utility-scale solar and wind globally, or over 416 GW.
Meanwhile, outside of China the amount of utility-scale solar and wind capacity under construction remains low, with just 7% of prospective capacity (226 GW) currently being built. Failing to bring renewable projects online could jeopardize the pace and scale necessary for meeting the goal of tripling renewables capacity by 2030 set at COP28.
GEM data included 185 GW of solar and wind farms that were under construction as of December 2023 and designated to become operational before the end of 2024. Globally, only 59% of these projects started producing electricity on time.
Despite their lower share of total capacity, G7 countries are more likely than China and the rest of the world to finish projects on time. About 76% of solar and wind projects in G7 countries became operational within the originally planned time frame. This figure declines to 55% in China and further drops to 52% in other non-G7 countries.
Diren Kocakuşak, Research Analyst for Global Energy Monitor, said, “The growth of wind and solar in the last year is promising, but the world needs to pick up the pace and bring these projects online much faster. Addressing barriers like limitations on the physical grid, permitting bottlenecks, and lack of financing can help bring us closer to tripling renewables capacity and limiting the worst impacts of a changing climate.”
