Powering Up

Time for some positive news: Clean energy capacity has never been higher. In fact, 2025 was a record-breaking year, with renewables accounting for 49 per cent of global installed power capacity, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Solar power led the charge, making up nearly three quarters of all renewable additions, while wind contributed a further 159 gigawatts to a total of 692 gigawatts for 2025 – the largest annual increase ever recorded.

This uptick can be seen around the world. Africa posted its biggest annual increase to date, with growth of almost 16 per cent, led by Ethiopia, South Africa and Egypt. The Middle East also saw record expansion, driven largely by large-scale solar projects in Saudi Arabia.

But it is China that remains the dominant force in renewables, driving 60 per cent of global renewable capacity growth in 2025. So rapid is China’s progress that it met its 2030 wind and solar target five years ahead of schedule, in 2024.

So, what is behind this impressive growth? Falling costs for solar panels and battery storage are key factors, making clean electricity increasingly competitive. Additionally, simpler permitting processes are broadening accessibility. As a result, renewables can now be deployed faster than fossil fuels and operate flexibly, allowing growing electricity demands to be met without increasing emissions.

Despite this pace of progress, a gap to tripling the use of renewable energy sources by 2030 (the target agreed by almost 200 countries at COP28 in the UAE) remains, and it is now vital these hard-won successes do not falter into complacency. Closing the gap will take sustained cross-sector efforts, but progress towards the goal of a future powered by clean energy may finally feel within reach.

This award-winning photograph is from ‘The Moment’, the seventh season of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.