Renewable Energy Statistics 2021

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) produces comprehensive, reliable data sets on renewable energy capacity and use worldwide. Renewable Energy Statistics 2021 provides data sets on power-generation capacity for 2011-2020, actual power generation for 2011-2019 and renewable energy balances for over 130 countries and areas for 2018-2019.

Data was obtained from a variety of sources, including an IRENA questionnaire, official national statistics, industry association reports, consultant reports and news articles. Major trends in the sector worldwide are outlined in the accompanying brief on Renewable energy highlights. 

The yearbook also includes statistics on investments in renewables, compiled from the OECD-DAC database and 20 major multi-lateral, bilateral and national development financial institutions, spanning 2010-2019. The investment data is presented in millions of United States dollars (USD million) at 2019 prices.

Data on renewable power capacity represents the maximum net generating capacity of power plants and other installations that use renewable energy sources to produce electricity. For most countries and technologies, the data reflects the capacity installed and connected at the end of the calendar year.

Capacity is presented in megawatts (MW), while generation is presented in gigawatt-hours (GWh). Pumped storage, although included as part of hydropower data, is excluded from total renewable energy.

Electricity generation and capacity datasets from the year 2000 onwards are also available through a dashboard on IRENA’s Data & Statistics page.