IRENA's figures show that almost half of all new capacity installed in 2022 will be in Asia, amounting to a total of 1.6 TW. In this context, China dominated, adding 141 GW of new renewable capacity in that region of the world.

According to the "Renewable Capacity Statistics 2023", released this Tuesday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and quoted by the newspaper Negócios, by the end of 2022 global renewable energy generation capacity had increased by 3.4 TW, which equates to a total installed capacity of close to 295 GW. An increase of 9.6% in the implementation of energy in the world, compared to 2021).

The figures show that "renewable energy continues to grow at record levels, despite global uncertainties, confirming the downward trend in energy production from fossil fuels", IRENA concluded in a statement, adding that "83 % of all energy capacity added last year was from renewables".

In 2022, hydropower represented the largest share of global renewable energy generation capacity with 1.3 TW. Renewable hydropower capacity increased by 21 GW last year (+2 %), "an expansion consistent with recent years".

However, it was solar and wind energy that continued to dominate new generation capacity. Together, both technologies contributed 90% to the share of all new renewable capacity in 2022. Solar capacity led the way with a 22% increase, followed by wind power, which increased its generation capacity by 9%.

Solar photovoltaics accounted for almost all of the increase in solar energy in 2022, with a jump of 191 GW, while wind power, with a growth of 75 GW, confirmed the slowing trend compared to the previous two years.

The expansion of bioenergy also slowed down slightly in 2022 (7.6 GW added last year compared to 8.1 GW in 2021). Geothermal energy, meanwhile, increased "very modestly" by 181 MW of installed capacity, IRENA reveals.

For its part, decentralized renewable production for own consumption increased by 1.2 TW in 2022 (+ 11%), reaching 12.4 GW of installed capacity.

"This continued record growth shows the resilience of renewable energies, despite the persistent energy crisis," said Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA.

"The strong commercial case for renewable energies, together with government support and subsidy policies, have sustained an upward trend in their share of the global energy mix year after year," he added, warning that in order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, "annual additions of renewable energy capacity must triple from the current level by 2030."

In regional terms - and although many countries will have increased their renewable capacity by 2022, IRENA assures us - the most significant growth in clean energies has been concentrated in Asia, the USA and Europe.

IRENA's figures show that almost half of all new capacity installed in 2022 will be in Asia, amounting to a total of 1.6 TW. In this context, China dominated, adding 141 GW of new renewable capacity in that region of the world. In Europe and North America, renewable energy grew by 57.3 GW and 29.1 GW respectively.

In Africa, renewables continued to expand steadily, with an increase of 2.7 GW, slightly up on last year. Oceania achieved an expansion of 5.2 GW and South America registered a capacity expansion of 18.2 GW. The Middle East, for its part, recorded its largest increase in renewable energy (+12.8%), with 3.2 GW of new installed capacity in 2022.

"Since energy consumption is expected to increase in many regions of the world, the energy transition requires a radical change, with a strategic shift that goes beyond supply-side decarbonization. In light of recent global events, any expansion of renewables must be linked to efforts to accelerate the energy transition in order to make the system more resilient, inclusive and resistant to climate change," added the head of IRENA, an intergovernmental agency of which there are 168 members (167 countries and the European Union) and another 16 countries that are currently in the process of joining.