The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in its annual 'Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026' report, stated that due to rapid expansion in solar and wind energy capacity, India emerged as the world’s third largest renewable energy market in 2025 after China and the USA.

Despite turbulence in the global energy market, the country maintained strong momentum and added about 45 GW of renewable capacity in 2025.

According to the recently released 'Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026' by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global renewable energy capacity reached 5,149 gigawatts (GW) after the addition of 692 GW of new capacity worldwide in 2025; this reflects an annual growth of 15.5%.

The report confirms that renewable energy contributed 85.6% of the total new capacity added last year, while the share of non-renewable sources in global installations continued to decline.

Key facts related to 'Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026'

Hydropower (excluding pumped storage) increased by 18.4 GW, of which 96% came from China, and contributions also came from Ethiopia, India, Tanzania, Bhutan, Vietnam, Canada, Austria, Indonesia and Nepal.

China contributed the most to global solar capacity (adding more than 315 GW in a year), while India ranked second, followed by South Korea.

Wind energy saw a 14% increase compared to last year, adding 158.7 GW capacity; about three-fourths of this growth came from China, while India added 6.3 GW capacity. Bioenergy capacity increased by 3.4 GW, with Japan contributing the most with 1.1 GW, followed by China with 0.8 GW and Brazil with 0.6 GW.

Geothermal energy saw a modest increase of 0.3 GW, with the Philippines and Indonesia each adding 0.1 GW capacity, and slight increases also observed in Germany, Turkey and Japan.

Key facts related to India in 'Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026'

India became the third largest renewable energy market in 2025 with a capacity of 250.5 GW and an addition of 45 GW. The total installed capacity in 2025 is approximately 250.5 GW. Earlier, in 2023, this capacity was 175.9 GW.

In 2025, solar capacity increased by 37 GW. Also, India ranked second after China in terms of expansion of solar energy. In 2025, energy capacity from wind energy increased by 6.3 GW, indicating that wind energy is growing steadily.

Additionally, hydropower generation increased from 52 GW in 2024 to 56 GW in 2025. Along with this, pumped hydro storage capacity increased from 4.7 GW to 7.2 GW.

About the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was established on 26 January, 2009 in Bonn, Germany to promote large-scale adoption of renewable energy.

Its concept was proposed in 1981, and it became the first international organization focused specifically on renewable energy and became officially operational by 2011, with its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to facilitate the global energy transition.

The concept of IRENA emerged in Nairobi in 1981, and over the next few decades, organizations like EUROSOLAR and the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) strongly supported it.