Renewables now make up 30% of global electricity generation
Renewable energy, sourced from replenishable natural resources like sunlight, wind, and geothermal heat, is pivotal in electricity generation, heating, cooling, and transportation. It offers off-grid solutions for remote areas, produces minimal greenhouse gases, and enhances energy security due to its wide geographical distribution. As global efforts to mitigate climate change intensify, the shift to low-carbon energy, led by renewables, is accelerating. Technologies such as solar PV and wind are becoming cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Increasing the renewable share in energy systems involves electrifying heating and transport sectors, using biofuels, and deploying solar water heating, biomass burners, and geothermal heating. Achieving climate goals requires rapid renewable energy deployment across all sectors, supported by favourable policies and market conditions.
You can find further information below about the technologies, costs and current developments within each of the seven major types of renewables:
Learn more about renewables by reading our Energy Insights.
For the latest news and articles on renewable energy read New Energy World.
View our dedicated Collections on Hydrogen.
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of solar energy capacity was added in 2023 worldwide (Statistical Review of World Energy)
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jobs in the renewable energy sector in 2023 (IRENA)
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share of total primary energy consumption worldwide was from renewables in 2023 (Statistical Review of World Energy)
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households in the UK (or equivalent) were powered by wind energy in 2023 (RenewableUK)
New Energy World stories
Global renewable investment hits new highs as MDBs scale up climate finance
17th September 2025
Global investment in new renewable energy projects hit a record $386bn in 1H2025, up 10% from the previous year, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF). How...
German agrivoltaics projects provide ‘double harvest’ of energy and food
17th September 2025
But first, RWE’s demonstration project at the edge of the Garzweiler opencast mine in the Rhenish mining area in west Germany has been cultivating gra...
Scottish pipe maintenance trial sees gas replaced with hydrogen, just part of $110bn global investment in the low-carbon gas
17th September 2025
The SGN LTS Futures project focused on the UK’s high-pressure local transmission system (LTS) – an 11,600 km pipeline network that brings gas from the...
New EU platform to raise European green hydrogen production
10th September 2025
Stakeholders can register on the platform and subscribe to the EU Hydrogen Mechanism. The first round matching demand and supply is scheduled for this...
Aberdeen oil and gas industry hits out at taxation at Offshore Europe
10th September 2025
It argued that the levy is already having a severe impact on the sector by blocking new field development and stalling existing projects. With 282 fie...
Technical guidance publications
EI 3596
SafetyOn Safe by Design workshop report: Review of the risks and control measures for current and ageing high voltage equipment (including boundary switches to low voltage equipment) in and around wind turbine generators
July 2025
This document has been produced to assist the onshore wind industry to reduce, and where practicable, eliminate the hazards associated with high-volta...
EI 3590
SafetyOn 2024 Incident data report
June 2025
This report presents the analysis of health and safety incident data submitted by SafetyOn members and serves to highlight key risk areas that can inf...
EI 3584
G+ Good practice guideline - Governance of mechanical lifting operations in the offshore wind industry
May 2025
This new G+ good practice guidance aims to share, advance and encourage good practice for the governance of lifting operations in the offshore wind in...
EI 3586
SafetyOn Good practice guidelines: Welfare in the onshore wind industry
March 2025
The first edition of the SafetyOn GPG on welfare in the onshore wind industry is a resource for wind companies to adopt and implement within their own...
EI 3462
Wind Turbine Safety Rules Procedure 5: Temporary application of an alternative safe systems of work
February 2025
The Wind Turbine Safety Rules (WTSRs) are a model set of Safety Rules and procedures to help formalise a Safe System of Work (SSoW) to manage the sign...