Global power grid investment reaches US$359b in 2024: report

But it fell short of the USD671b annual investments needed to be reached between 2025 and 2030, IRENA said.

Global investment in power grids grew by 14% in 2024 to reach US$359b, or 1.9 times short of the US$671b annual investments needed to be reached between 2025 and 2030.

The growth was 14% up the average from 2022 and 2023, and the investments were made to support renewables, electric vehicles, and heat pumps, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in its global energy transition report.

The investments are in line with IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario and were made for energy transmission and distribution, it added.

Global spending on grids is expected to rise, but most of these plans have been made in China and in advanced economies such as Australia, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

For developing countries, investments were made in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

For other developing nations, core challenges in financing grids include limited resources of governments and utilities, inability to recover costs from consumers, and need to both upgrade grid quality and meet rapidly growing electricity demand, the IRENA said.