When Ming Xia, a farmer in China's Yunnan province, installed solar panels on his roof three years ago, he thought he was making a smart financial choice. He didn't realize he was part of the fastest energy shift in human history.
According to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global renewable electricity generation grew by 9.8% in 2024 — the fastest rate ever recorded. That electricity now makes up 31.7% of the world's power supply, totaling 9,836 terawatt hours (TWh). To put that in perspective, that's enough clean electricity to power hundreds of millions of homes.
The numbers are striking when you compare them to fossil fuels. While renewables surged ahead, non-renewable electricity generation grew by only 1.4% in the same period. That's a massive gap that experts say will only widen.
Solar and wind power drove most of this growth. Asia led the world, producing 4,589 TWh of renewable electricity — a 14.3% jump — with both solar and wind expanding rapidly. Europe added 17,758 TWh, while North America reached 15,535 TWh. Even regions with less renewable infrastructure saw gains: Africa grew by 5.7% and the Middle East saw the fastest regional growth at 17.3%.
The pace of building new clean energy projects is equally impressive. Global renewable capacity reached 5.2 terawatts (TW) by the end of 2025, with a record 693 gigawatts (GW) added in a single year. That's the highest amount in 25 years.
Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA, said the world is now "rallying behind electrification" as the path forward. He noted that while the technology exists and the economics make sense, countries must move faster to replace fossil fuels with clean electricity in homes, transportation, and factories.
Simon Stiell, head of the UN Climate Change body, added that every nation at last year's climate summit agreed the transition is "irreversible." He pointed out that clean energy is now cheaper, safer, and faster to build than fossil fuels, even as fuel prices caused economic pain worldwide.
Of course, challenges remain. The report suggests reaching future climate goals will require expanding renewable electricity to roughly two and a half times today's level by 2035 — a massive but not impossible undertaking. The momentum, however, is undeniably growing.
For Ming Xia and millions like him, the shift is already underway. What once seemed like a personal choice has become part of a global movement.