Renewable Energy: IRENA Chief Expects Fewer Additions in 2026 for First Time – Power Grids Slow Growth
Abu Dhabi – After a global record addition of around 693 GW in 2025, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera expects annual renewable energy additions to decline in 2026 for the first time in five years. He cites inadequate power grids and trade restrictions as obstacles.
After Record 2025: IRENA Chief Expects Smaller Additions in 2026
According to the IRENA World Energy Transition Outlook 2026, global installed renewable capacity rose by 693 GW to 5,155 GW in 2025. Annual additions thus reached an all-time high. At the end of the year, renewables accounted for about half of the world’s installed power generation capacity.
In a conversation with Reuters on the sidelines of Singapore International Energy Week, La Camera said that generation capacity was being expanded faster than transmission and distribution grids. He added that trade restrictions were also complicating deployment.
La Camera did not give a specific forecast for global additions in 2026. In his assessment, growth in other regions of the world is unlikely to be sufficient to offset the slowdown in China.
China: Solar Additions Back Above Prior-Year Level in Third Quarter After Weak First Half
China remains the world’s largest market for renewable energy. At the end of September 2026, installed wind and solar capacity exceeded 2,000 GW for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). The share of renewables in China’s power generation reached 41.8 percent in the first nine months.
New installations show a marked slowdown in photovoltaics. From January to September 2026, 110.83 GW of solar capacity was installed, compared with 240.27 GW in the same period of the previous year. This represents a decline of around 54 percent. Wind energy additions remained almost stable at 60.7 GW, against 61.1 GW.
The decline in photovoltaics was concentrated in the first half of the year. In that period, additions fell by around 66 percent to 72.07 GW. In the third quarter of 2026, by contrast, around 38.8 GW was newly installed, about 38 percent more than in the same quarter of the previous year. In September, too, additions of 13.64 GW were around 41 percent above the level of the same month a year earlier.
The sharp decline in the nine-month balance is largely shaped by the exceptionally high prior-year comparison level. Since June 2025, changed rules have applied in China for the power marketing and price hedging of new wind and solar plants. The cut-off date created incentives for commissioning brought forward. However, the share of these pull-forward effects in the 2026 decline cannot be quantified.
At the same time, China is investing in the integration of growing renewable power generation. At the end of September, installed new-type energy storage capacity stood at 167 GW, 63 percent more than a year earlier.
IRENA: Grid Investment Must More Than Double for 1.5-Degree Pathway
IRENA’s World Energy Transition Outlook 2026 underlines the importance of power grids and storage. According to IRENA, global grid investment stood at USD 422 billion in 2025. A development pathway consistent with the 1.5-degree goal would require an average of USD 1,049 billion per year between 2026 and 2035.
A further USD 234 billion per year would be needed for storage and other flexibility measures. Together, this results in an annual investment requirement of USD 1,283 billion for grids and flexibility. These are requirements under the IRENA scenario, not a forecast of actual investment.
The expansion of grid infrastructure is intended to integrate larger volumes of renewable power reliably into the supply system. Alongside transmission and distribution capacity, storage, flexible power consumers and the alignment of generation and demand are gaining importance. The high investment requirement also opens up long-term market opportunities for providers of grid and storage technologies.
IRENA: More Than 1,300 GW of Annual Additions Required for 1.5-Degree Pathway
The short-term slowdown in renewables deployment does not change the high long-term expansion requirements. In its Planned Energy Scenario, which takes existing policy plans and measures into account, IRENA assumes average annual net additions of 619 GW of renewable capacity through 2035. By contrast, the 1.5-degree pathway would require more than 1,300 GW per year.
The expected decline in 2026 therefore does not necessarily signal a trend reversal. Developments in China show how strongly regulatory changes and exceptional prior-year effects can influence annual additions. At the same time, the IRENA report makes clear that further acceleration of global renewables deployment increasingly depends on investment in power grids, storage and suitable market structures.
Source: IWR Online, 03 Nov 2026
