Explore how 2025 unfolded for global renewables — from bold targets to real-world challenges — and what’s next for energy markets in 2026.

Global Renewables in 2025: Where We Started, Where We Are, and What’s Next for 2026

Industry News
December 18, 2025•2 min read

Global Renewables in 2025: Where We Started, Where We Are, and What’s Next for 2026

What We Hoped for in 2025

Heading into 2025, the global renewable energy sector stood on a high. COP28 had set the tone with a pledge to triple renewables capacity by 2030, and record-breaking deployment in 2024 pointed toward momentum that could carry the industry through the decade. The year was meant to be a show of confidence — that the sector could expand rapidly while securing supply chains, grid readiness, and investment flow.

Key expectations for 2025 included:

  • Global additions surpassing 800 GW of new wind, solar, and hydro

  • Offshore wind regaining pace after 2023–24 cost challenges

  • Transmission investment catching up with capacity growth

  • Clean energy investment eclipsing fossil fuels globally

  • Progress on international supply chain resilience and grid planning

What Actually Happened

2025 delivered big capacity numbers, but the cracks showed too. While solar continued its unstoppable rise — especially in China, India, and Brazil — wind struggled under pressure from inflation, tight margins, and permitting backlogs. Grid congestion became a global theme, slowing rollouts and triggering curtailment. And although clean energy outpaced fossil fuel investment overall, bottlenecks in storage and transmission created limits to what could be delivered.

What the year actually looked like:

  • New capacity added, mainly driven by solar

  • Wind auctions delayed or undersubscribed in the UK, U.S., and EU

  • Storage grew but still lagged behind integration needs

  • Transmission queues hit record highs in major markets

  • Policy backtracking in the U.S. created short-term market uncertainty

Where 2026 Needs to Go

2026 will be a year of course correction — not slowing down, but scaling smarter. Developers, suppliers, and policymakers all need to shift from volume-first thinking to delivery-focused strategy. That means more transmission investment, market designs that reward flexibility, and procurement models that reflect real-world costs. The sector can still meet its 2030 targets — but only if 2026 unlocks project bottlenecks and enables confident execution.

Key priorities for 2026:

renewable energyglobal renewables 2025energy transitionsolar capacitywind power challengesgrid bottlenecksenergy storage growthclean energy investmenttransmission upgradesoffshore wind delaysnet zero targetspolicy and permittingenergy system flexibility2026 renewable outlookutility-scale solarglobal energy mixrenewable energy deployment
Back to Blog