With the increasing trend towards clean energy sources worldwide, the capacity of renewable energy projects reached 3,869 gigawatts last year, a 52 percent increase compared to 2019.
According to information compiled from the “Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2024” report of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) by an AA correspondent, the largest increase in renewable energy from 2019 to 2023 occurred in solar power plants (GES).
During this period, the installed capacity of solar power plants increased by approximately 138.5 percent to 1,419 gigawatts. This was followed by wind power plants, which recorded a 63.5 percent increase. The total installed capacity of global wind power plants (RES) reached 1,017 gigawatts.
The installed capacity of biomass power plants increased by 20 percent during the same period to 150 gigawatts, while the installed capacity of geothermal power plants (GPP) reached 15 gigawatts, an increase of 7.1 percent.
The capacity of hydroelectric power plants (HPP) increased by 6.4 percent over 5 years to 1,268 gigawatts.
The area with the smallest change in installed capacity and 5-year increase was ocean energy. Ocean energy, which covers electricity generated from wave and tidal events and sea winds, has limited examples worldwide. Half of the total 527 megawatts of installed capacity of ocean energy projects are in Asia, while 45 percent are in Europe.
Thus, global renewable energy capacity reached approximately 3,869 gigawatts in the period 2019-2023, with an increase of about 52 percent. The share of renewable energy in electricity capacity increased to 43.2 percent last year, showing an increase of 8.6 percent compared to 2019.
Asia led the increase in renewable energy capacity with 74 percent during this period, followed by Oceania countries with 56 percent and European countries with 37 percent. Meanwhile, North America showed a 36 percent increase, South America 29 percent, and Africa 23 percent growth.
During this period, the total capacity of off-grid renewable energy increased by 36 percent to 12,754 megawatts.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç