Global renewable energy investment breach $800b in 2024

However, the growth of clean power slowed by 7.3% last year.

Capital injected into renewable energy has reached $807b in 2024, which is about one-third of the $2.4t investments made in energy transition last year.

However, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Climate Policy Initiative’s (CPI) new report noted that the growth of renewables slowed significantly, with annual investments increasing by 7.3% in 2024 from 32% last year.

“Funding for renewables is soaring but remains highly concentrated in the most advanced economies. As countries gather at COP30 to advance the ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3 trillion’, scaling finance for emerging and developing countries is essential to make the transition truly inclusive and global,” said Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA.

Advanced and major economies can draw on domestic financial resources to fund energy transitions, whilst lower-income countries depend on external support. Globally, nearly half of the 2023 investments were provided as debt, and the rest through equity.

The report also noted that investment in energy transition supply chains and manufacturing remains critical, but highly concentrated.

Investments in factories producing solar, wind, battery and hydrogen fell by 21% to $102b in 2024, driven by a significant drop in investments for solar PV manufacturing. In contrast, battery factory investment nearly doubled to $74b, reflecting rising demand for storage in grids, electric vehicles and data centres.

“China accounts for 80% of global investment in manufacturing facilities for solar, wind, battery and hydrogen technologies between 2018 and 2024,” IRENA said.

“Positively, new factories are emerging outside advanced economies and China expanding energy security and socio-economic benefits of the transition to other developing economies,” it added.