Global renewable energy capacity is set to grow at almost three times the pace seen over the past six years during the rest of the decade, the International Energy Agency has said.
Some 5,500 gigawatts of capacity are on course to be built between 2024 and 2030, with China accounting for almost 60% of all new renewables over the period.
This would see renewables able to meet almost half of global electricity demand come 2030, with solar making up the majority of new capacity.
The new renewables would also roughly equate to the combined current power capacity of China, the European Union, India and the United States.
“Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets for,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a report on Wednesday.
“This is mainly driven not just by efforts to lower emissions or boost energy security - it’s increasingly because renewables today offer the cheapest option to add new power.”
However, the IEA’s latest forecast indicated the growth would not be enough to meet targets set in 2023 to triple global renewable capacity.
Capacity was instead likely to grow by 2.7 times over the period, with the IEA noting near-term action could see the target met by supporting growth in developing economies.
“Meeting international climate goals would require not only accelerating the rollout of renewable power, but also significantly speeding up the adoption of sustainable biofuels, biogases, hydrogen and e-fuels,” the IEA added.