As China's push to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 draws increased attention toward wind power, experts say moving wind farms to deeper waters could eliminate some of the challenges to offshore wind power and help expand the fleet of turbines. Offshore wind power is expected to account for 10 percent of total power generation in 2050, and 70 percent of the technical potential is in deeper waters suited to wind farms floating on the ocean surface rather than digging into the ocean bed, said Dolf Gielen, director of the International Renewable Energy Agency Innovation and Technology Center.

Transition in the energy sector is happening and renewables is at the forefront of the discussion, according to Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of IRENA. Renewable energy use made up 30 percent of total energy generation at the end of 2015 and the declining cost of renewables would accelerate renewable usage throughout the world. Speaking at the World Energy Congress, Amin said "Investment and growth of renewables at this level signals the energy transformation happening in the sector".

https://fortune.com/europe/2025/08/05/europe-pushes-towards-1-5-trillion-renewables-target-ikea-stegra-green-power-opportunities-solar-jesper-brodin/

How green is wind power? It’s not a simple question. Of course the wind blows without carbon emissions, but catching it isn’t easy. They won’t run out of material — the International Renewable Energy Agency predicts that we’ll have to deal with a cumulative 78 million metric tons of antiquated solar panel waste and tens of millions of tons of old turbine blades by 2050.

Electricity generated from renewable sources represented almost three quarters of new power capacity added in 2019, the International Renewable Energy Agency said in a report.

The 44-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) represents some of the world’s most vulnerable island nations fighting a virtually losing battle against rising sea levels triggered by global warming and climate change. The Maldives, as the Chair of AOSIS, and in collaboration with IRENA, launched the Initiative for Renewable Island Energy in October, which will facilitates support for Small Island States in their transition to renewable energy, and in achieving energy efficiency.

Representatives from over 90 countries came to Abu Dhabi to discuss and recommend actions to promote the expansion of renewables around the world.

A July report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) found Australia was now among the world leaders in cheap solar energy.

The power companies from the Gulf Cooperation Council nations are planning to further invest in the global $10 trillion renewables market, expanding outside their region as demand for cleaner energy gathers pace around the world. The gulf region could save 354 million barrels of oil equivalent from adopting renewable energy by 2030, according to a 2019 study from the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.

As well as being less risky, more cost-effective and helping to create jobs, renewable energy solutions deliver a better result for the environment. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the cost of renewables continues on a downward trajectory and are now most frequently the cheapest source of energy generation, weakening the case for nuclear power.

South Africa’s state-owned power utility, which relies on coal to generate most of the nation’s electricity, issued a request for bids to build its first battery-energy storage system, according to a tender document seen by Bloomberg. Battery storage can save fuel costs and reduce grid congestion, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). It can also balance a greater use of renewable sources that provide intermittent power.

Millions of people have gained access to electricity through renewable energy during the past five years, a joint parliamentary forum organised by the Federal National Council and IRENA. Adnan Z Amin, Director-General of IRENA said: “Today, renewables are the most economic option for off-grid electrification. At least 60 million people are served through off-grid renewable energy systems in Africa, and almost all of them gained access to electricity during the past five years,” he said.  

Europe’s power sector is under pressure as never before from changes in government policy to technological advances and the explosive growth and falling costs of renewables all of which are undermining the economics of traditional power plants. A recent forecast by IRENA predicted that on current trends, by 2020, “all mainstream renewable power generation technologies can be expected to provide average costs at the lower end of the fossil-fuel cost range".

One-third of the world's installed electricity generation capacity is from renewable sources, according to the latest industry statistics. The data compiled by IRENA shows that two-thirds of the power capacity added around the world in 2018 was from renewables. Wind and solar accounted for 84% of that total.

Scaling up renewable energy and introducing improved plant cooling technologies in China's power sector can reduce water-intensity up to 42 percent and emissions-intensity up to 37 percent by 2030, said the IRENA. The findings were published in a new joint brief by the Abu Dhabi-based IRENA and China Water Risk, a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to addressing environmental and business risks.

As horrible as the pandemic has been, it has managed to do two things that can be considered positive; it brought about a rapid drop in national carbon emission levels in the U.S. and sped up the renewable energy adoption rate. According to The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), transforming energy systems based on renewables could boost global GDP by $98 trillion by 2050 and create 63 million new jobs globally in renewables and energy efficiency. If America needs anything now, it needs jobs that people actually want to do.

Several forecasts of how the world can achieve a net zero power system by 2050 include a doubling of global hydropower capacity, such as analyses from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

"Green hydrogen" refers to hydrogen produced by electrolyzing water with the power of renewable energy such as wind power and sunlight. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), insisted at an online seminar titled "Competition for Net Zero" on November 16th last year.

Talk about changing times. An old gasification plant in West Terre Haute, Indiana is getting a new life. It will use petroleum coke and biomass to produce hydrogen for power. It will also capture and sequester the resulting CO2. Just how realistic is this pursuit and just how clean is the process? The International Renewable Energy Agency says that energy losses occur when hydrogen is produced and transported: as much as 70% of the energy content may get lost, although that figure is less consequential if the hydrogen is created from solar power that is abundant and free.

The global fuel crunch has prompted some countries to scramble for coal and other fossil fuels for price stability. But the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Wednesday (Oct 27) said the way forward is to bring in more renewables in the system and at an accelerated pace.

The International Renewable Energy Agency and the Cop28 presidency also on Monday called for the tripling of renewable power capacity and the doubling of energy efficiency by 2030 to reach the goals of the Paris deal.

Investment in wind and solar power is expected to surpass fossil-fuel power in coming years, despite dropoff in subsidies. Today, Asia accounts for nearly half of global renewable-energy capacity, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Companies that provide clean off-grid electricity to the poor in developing nations are searching for ways to stay afloat - and keep life-saving power on - through the coronavirus pandemic, as the economic fallout from the crisis empties customers’ pockets. The International Renewable Energy Agency and African Union Commission agreed last week to cooperate on projects such as helping rural health centres and communities deal with COVID-19 by using renewable power to run critical services.

There is a huge opportunity in South East Asia and the prospects for renewables are great. The business case for electricity generation via mini-grids is "far better" than diesel generation, says Adnan Z. Amin Director-General of IRENA. As solar mini-grids are becoming more economical we see a rapid change in the region. 

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published a new report this week which charts pathways to further accelerate a transformation of the global energy mix by intensifying electrification to the point that renewable energy can provide 86% of global power demand.