Clean Energy Grows Almost 5 TW Led by Developing Economies: Report
The GEM data shows that clean energy expansion is shifting away from rich countries even as 2030 target looms
G7 countries accounted for only 11% of the world’s prospective wind and utility-scale solar capacity.
A new report found that the global pipeline of wind and utility-scale solar energy grew to a record 4.9TW in 2025. This analysis by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said that this growth was led by the emerging economies, a significant step towards tripling the renewable energy capacity, and the wealthiest nations are no longer driving the clean energy buildout.
According to the report, announced, pre-construction and in construction wind, and utility-scale solar capacity grew 11% year-over-year, rising from 4.4 TW to more than 4.9 TW. China alone hosted 448 GW of wind and utility-scale solar projects currently under construction— half the global total — and its combined operating wind and solar capacity surpassed 1.6 TW in 2025, triple the combined capacity of its closest peers, the United States and India.
Widening Gap Between Climate Ambition and Implementation in G7 Countries
Meanwhile, G7 countries accounted for only 11% of the world’s prospective wind and utility-scale solar capacity, despite controlling roughly half of global wealth. Their combined pipeline has remained largely unchanged at about 520 gigawatts (GW) since 2023, highlighting a widening gap between climate ambition and implementation in advanced economies, the report stated.
Diren Kocakuşak, Research Analyst for Global Energy Monitor, said, “Wind and solar are scaling at breakneck speed, and much of that momentum is coming from countries once seen as energy followers. The question now is whether wealthier countries will close the gap between ambition and execution, or cede leadership in this booming growth sector.”
Pace of Renewable Energy Expansion is Slowing
The report mentioned that while growth has been commendable so far, the pace of expansion is slowing. Year-on-year growth in the wind and utility-scale solar pipeline has slowed from 22% in 2024 to 11% in 2025. The report revealed that this trend is more pronounced for wind projects, with a 13% drop from 2024, compared to a 7% drop for solar projects.
The report cited that in 2025, the wind developers political barriers and a streak of failed wind power auctions. Decline in planned wind development could have an outsized impact on future power generation, given wind’s higher capacity factor over solar.
The report cited that even if every wind and utility-scale solar project with a planned start year by 2030 came online, the tripling goal would be short by 1 TW of wind and 1.6 TW of utility-scale solar. Additionally, GEM’s previous analysis revealed that almost 40% of all planned projects are either late to come online or end up shelved or cancelled.
Distributed solar played a significant role in the clean energy transition. The report cited International Energy Agency’s predictions that approximately 42% of all existing and prospective solar capacity is distributed. Of the nearly 900 GW of operating distributed solar capacity across 31 countries, the top ten countries account for 90% of the total, with China alone accounting for more than half.
The report said that it is essential to accelerate wind and solar deployment alongside investments in grid, storage, and distributed systems to meet the 2030 target. The report concluded that G7 countries have a narrow but significant window to close that gap between ambition and action.