The leading countries for installed renewable energy in 2024 were China, the United States, and Brazil. China was the leader in renewable energy installations, with a capacity of around 1,827 gigawatts. The U.S., in second place, had a capacity of around 428 gigawatts. Renewable energy is an important step in addressing climate change and mitigating the consequences of this phenomenon. Renewable energy capacity and productionRenewable power capacity is defined as the maximum generating capacity of installations that use renewable sources to generate electricity. The share of renewable energy in the world’s power production has increased in recent years, surpassing 30 percent in 2023. Renewable energy consumption varies from country to country. The leading countries for renewable energy consumption are China, the United States, and Canada.Renewable energy sourcesThere are various sources of renewable energy used globally, including bioenergy, solar energy, hydropower, and wind energy, to name a few. Globally, China and Brazil are the top two countries in terms of generating the most energy through hydropower. Regarding solar power, China, the United States, and Japan boast the highest installed capacities worldwide.

In 2024, renewable energy consumption in China reached *****exajoules, more than any other country in the world. Renewable sources such as geothermal, wind, solar, biomass, and waste were included in this measurement, while cross-border electricity trade was not taken into account. Hydropower in China China is by far the leading consumer of hydropower, with over ***** times the consumption of other leading countries such as Canada and Brazil. Several of the world’s hydroelectric dams with the highest generating capacity are located in China, many of which were constructed in the past two decades. The **************** on the Yangtze River was completed in 2012 to become the largest in the world. Energy consumption in the United States After China, the United States was the second-highest consumer of renewable energy in the world. Both countries also consumed the most primary energy overall. The United States strives to achieve energy independence in order to reduce imports of foreign energy sources. As renewable energy gains momentum in a fossil-fuel dominated industry, renewable production in the United States has slightly exceeded the country’s consumption in recent years, and additionally, have both more than doubled since 1975.

This table expresses the use of renewable energy as gross final consumption of energy. Figures are presented in an absolute way, as well as related to the total energy use in the Netherlands. The total gross final energy consumption in the Netherlands (the denominator used to calculate the percentage of renewable energy per ‘Energy sources and techniques’) can be found in the table as ‘Total, including non-renewables’ and Energy application ‘Total’. The gross final energy consumption for the energy applications ‘Electricity’ and ‘Heat’ are also available. With these figures the percentages of the different energy sources and applications can be calculated; these values are not available in this table. The gross final energy consumption for ‘Transport’ is not available because of the complexity to calculate this. More information on this can be found in the yearly publication ‘Hernieuwbare energie in Nederland’.

Renewable energy is energy from wind, hydro power, the sun, the earth, heat from outdoor air and biomass. This is energy from natural processes that is replenished constantly.

The figures are broken down into energy source/technique and into energy application (electricity, heat and transport).

This table focuses on the share of renewable energy according to the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Under this directive, countries can apply an administrative transfer by purchasing renewable energy from countries that have consumed more renewable energy than the agreed target. For 2020, the Netherlands has implemented such a transfer by purchasing renewable energy from Denmark. This transfer has been made visible in this table as a separate energy source/technique and two totals are included; a total with statistical transfer and a total without statistical transfer.

Figures for 2020 and before were calculated based on RED I; in accordance with Eurostat these figures will not be modified anymore. Inconsistencies with other tables undergoing updates may occur.

Data available from: 1990

Status of the figures: This table contains definite figures up to and including 2022, figures for 2023 are revised provisional figures and figures for 2024 are provisional.

Changes as of june 2025: Figures for 2024 have been added.

Changes as of January 2025 Renewable cooling has been added as Energy source and technique from 2021 onwards, in accordance with RED II. Figures for 2020 and earlier follow RED I definitions, renewable cooling isn’t a part of these definitions.
The energy application “Heat” has been renamed to “Heating and cooling”, in accordance with RED II definitions. RED II is the current Renewable Energy Directive which entered into force in 2021

Changes as of November 15th 2024 Figures for 2021-2023 have been adjusted. 2022 is now definitive, 2023 stays revised provisional. Because of new insights for windmills regarding own electricity use and capacity, figures on 2021 have been revised.

Changes as of March 2024: Figures of the total energy applications of biogas, co-digestion of manure and other biogas have been restored for 2021 and 2022. The final energy consumption of non-compliant biogas (according to RED II) was wrongly included in the total final consumption of these types of biogas. Figures of total biogas, total biomass and total renewable energy were not influenced by this and therefore not adjusted.

When will new figures be published? Provisional figures on the gross final consumption of renewable energy in broad outlines for the previous year are published each year in June. Revised provisional figures for the previous year appear each year in June.

In November all figures on the consumption of renewable energy in the previous year will be published. These figures remain revised provisional, definite figures appear in November two years after the reporting year. Most important (expected) changes between revised provisional figures in November and definite figures a year later are the figures on solar photovoltaic energy. The figures on the share of total energy consumption in the Netherlands could also still be changed by the availability of adjusted figures on total energy consumption.

China was the largest producer of renewable energy in the world. In 2020, the country produced nearly ***** billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy. The United States and Germany followed as the second and third largest producers, at *** and ***** billion kilowatt hours, respectively. China’s push for an energy transition As part of its Renewable Energy Development Plan series, China has made the energy transition a key policy issue. Between 2010 and 2020, China’s renewable energy capacity nearly quadrupled. The country’s installed solar capacity increased substantially, from just **** gigawatt hours in 2012 to more than *** gigawatt hours in 2020. Despite these developments, China is still the leading emitter of CO2 by a considerable margin. Renewable energy: a cheaper alternative? The cost of renewable energy sources fell considerably during the last decade. At the same time, global investments towards energy transition are on the rise, reaching *** billion U.S. dollars in 2021. As an energy supply shortage led to skyrocketing prices in Europe and Asia that year, energy independence and less reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy are becoming more and more attractive to nations around the world.

China dominated the renewable energy consumption globally and in the Asia-Pacific region, with the country consuming **** exajoules in 2023. This level far surpasses that of other major economies in the region, including India and Japan, which consumed *** and *** exajoules, respectively. Leading renewable energy markets China, India, Japan, and Vietnam are among the leading renewable energy markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with increasing investments in the development of renewable energy. Moreover, Australia has focused particularly on the development of solar and wind energy, with around ** percent of its electricity coming from solar power and about ** percent of its power generation coming from wind. Australia has the largest share of wind and solar power in the electricity mix among APAC countries. China has continued to see the largest investments globally in energy transition, while India is also attracting significant investments. Southeast Asian markets have emerged as potential renewable energy markets, with Vietnam making the most progress in capacity expansion. However, these emerging markets face persistent energy infrastructure, policy, and financing challenges that must be addressed in order to speed up the transition to clean energy. The dual challenge: rising energy demand and carbon emissions in Asia-Pacific Despite these advances in renewable energy, APAC is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels to meet its rapidly growing energy demand from expanding cities and industries. Coal still accounts for over half of APAC’s power generation, with China consuming the largest share. Unsurprisingly, the region remains the world’s largest energy-related carbon dioxide emitter. China, in particular, is the leading source of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. In 2023, the country emitted nearly **** billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, exceeding the combined emissions of the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. This situation underscores the complex challenge facing rapidly developing economies: how to sustain economic growth, meet rising energy needs, and improve living standards while curbing carbon emissions and ensuring a just and inclusive energy transition.

The Nordic Countries Renewable Energy Market is segmented by type (solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy, and other types) and geography (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland). The report offers the installed capacity and forecasts in gigawatts (GW) for all the above segments.

This dataset is about countries in Europe. It has 44 rows. It features 2 columns including renewable energy consumption.

Global Renewable Energy Consumption by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This horizontal bar chart displays renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) by countries using the aggregation average. The data is about countries.

In 2023, Germany accounted for the largest production of renewable energy in Europe, with approximately *** terawatt-hours of energy generated. Norway was the second-largest producer, with some *** terawatt-hours less than Germany. In both countries, renewable energy production increased in 2023 compared to 2023. Germany and the Norway were also among the largest renewable energy consumers in Europe in 2023, while the largest renewable energy capacity was installed in Germany.

European Share of Renewable Energy Sources in Electricity by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global RD&D in Renewable Energy Sources by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This dataset is about countries in Central America. It has 8 rows. It features 3 columns: ISO 3 country code, and renewable energy consumption.

Germany led Europe in renewable energy consumption, with *****exajoules consumed in 2024, up from *****exajoules in 2015. *******and *******************followed as the second and third-largest consumers, highlighting a broader trend of increased renewable energy use across the continent. Renewable energy production and capacity Germany's dominance in renewable energy consumption is mirrored in its production and capacity figures. In 2023, Germany's renewable energy production amounted to approximately *** terawatt-hours, far surpassing other European nations. The country also boasted the largest installed renewable energy capacity in Europe, with almost ****gigawatts as of 2024. This substantial capacity allows Germany to meet its high renewable energy consumption needs and contributes to its leadership in the sector. European renewable energy landscape The broader European renewable energy landscape shows a promising growth. Total renewable energy consumption in Europe reached about ** exajoules in 2023, marking a nine percent increase from the previous year. Wind power has emerged as the primary renewable source in the European Union's electricity mix since 2017, accounting for over ** percent of the EU's renewable mix in 2023.

This dataset is about countries per year in Trinidad and Tobago. It has 64 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and renewable energy consumption.

In 2024, Brazil was the leading Latin American country in terms of installed renewable energy capacity in the region, with nearly 213.9 gigawatts. Brazil's installed energy capacity represented approximately 58 percent of the region's renewable energy capacity in 2024, Mexico trailed in second, with a capacity of 34 gigawatts.

This dataset is about countries in Central America. It has 8 rows. It features 3 columns: country full name, and renewable energy consumption.

This dataset is about countries per year in Dominica. It has 64 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and renewable energy consumption.

Renewable energy consumption in OECD countries came to **** exajoules in 2023, up from **** exajoules in the previous year. Between 1998 and 2023, renewables consumption in the region increased by over ** exajoules, reaching a consumption peak in the latter year.

South Africa had the largest renewable energy capacity in Africa as of 2024, reaching ***** gigawatts. This corresponded to over ** percent of Africa's total renewable energy capacity that year. Egypt recorded the second-biggest capacity, at roughly *** gigawatts. Ethiopia followed with **** megawatts of renewable capacity.