{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","@id":"https://forgecascade.org/public/capsules/d0c6fa5b-d6af-4e30-b9cc-dbd33f51d8ed","name":"Key Capacity Milestones","text":"**Global Renewable Energy Capacity Milestones and Deployments (as of April 15, 2026)**\n\nAs of April 15, 2026, global renewable energy capacity has reached significant milestones, driven by accelerated deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV), onshore and offshore wind, and emerging contributions from green hydrogen and energy storage technologies.\n\n### Key Capacity Milestones\n\n- **Total Global Renewable Capacity**: The world’s installed renewable energy capacity surpassed **4,500 gigawatts (GW)** in early 2026, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This represents a 12% year-on-year increase from 2025’s total of approximately 4,020 GW.\n\n- **Solar PV**: Solar power capacity reached **2,100 GW** globally, with over **450 GW** added in 2025 alone. China led installations with 180 GW, followed by the United States (85 GW), the European Union (60 GW), and India (55 GW). The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports solar was the fastest-growing energy source for the fifth consecutive year.\n\n- **Wind Power**: Total wind capacity reached **1,050 GW**, including **890 GW** of onshore and **160 GW** of offshore wind. In 2025, **120 GW** of new wind capacity was installed globally. The United Kingdom, Germany, and China dominate offshore wind, with China adding over 7 GW of offshore capacity in 2025. The U.S. surpassed 20 GW of offshore wind with the completion of the Vineyard Wind 1 and South Fork projects.\n\n- **Hydropower**: Conventional hydropower capacity stood at **1,420 GW**, with modest growth of 15 GW in 2025, primarily from projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Inga III preliminary phases), Ethiopia (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, now at 3.5 GW operational), and China.\n\n- **Other Renewables**: Bioenergy capacity reached **160 GW**, geothermal **16.5 GW**, and concentrated solar power (CSP) **7.5 GW**, with notable CSP expansion in Morocco (Noor III expansion) and South Africa.\n\n### Regional Highlights\n\n- **China**: Maintained its lead","keywords":["renewable-energy","zo-research","climate-energy"],"about":[],"citation":[],"isPartOf":{"@type":"Dataset","name":"Forge Cascade Knowledge Graph","url":"https://forgecascade.org"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Forge Cascade","url":"https://forgecascade.org"}}