A report published Thursday estimates that the world's capacity to produce electricity from renewable sources will increase threefold this year in the face of rising fossil fuel prices and concerns about energy security.

According to the International Energy Agency these factors are ?driven by strong deployment of solar photovoltaic and wind power?

In the report, the agency led by Fatih Birol anticipates that this year's growth should continue into next year, increasing the world's renewable energy production capacity to 4,500 gigawatts (GW). This figure is ?equivalent to the total electricity production of China and the United States combined?, reads the publication.

In this context, global renewable energy capacity is expected to increase by 107 gigawatts (GW), the largest absolute increase ever, to over 440 GW by 2023. This dynamic expansion is occurring in the world's major markets, however, the IEA highlights the role of China which is consolidating its leadership position and is expected to account for almost 55% of global renewable energy capacity additions in 2023 and 2024.

Solar and wind power are leading the rapid expansion of the new global energy economy. This year, the world is expected to add a record amount of renewable energy to electricity systems ? more than the total power capacity of Germany and Spain combined," says the IEA's executive director.

Meanwhile, solar PV additions will account for two-thirds of the increase in renewable energy production capacity this year and should continue to grow in 2024, according to the report, cited by Eco.

Wind power, on the other hand, is expected to grow by 70% in 2023, year-over-year, due to the completion of construction of projects that were stalled because of the Covid-19 pandemic year.