A finales de 2015, mundial capacidad de generación renovable ascendió a 1.985 GW, representando un aumento de 152 GW o 8,3% durante 2015, haciendo de este el sexto año consecutivo en el que la capacidad renovable ha crecido alrededor de un 8% o más. La energía hidroeléctrica con 1.209 GW de capacidad instalados, es la de mayor proporción del total mundial. Tres cuartos de esta capacidad total hidroeléctrica corresponde a plantas de más de 10 MW.

1. At the end of 2015, global
renewable generation capacity
amounted to 1,985 GW. Hydro
accounted for the largest share of
the global total, with an installed
capacity of 1,209 GW. Three-
quarters of this was in large-scale
plants of over 10 MW.
Wind and solar energy accounted
for most of the remainder, with an
installed capacity of 432 GW and
227 GW respectively.
Other renewables included 104 GW of bioenergy, 13 GW of geothermal
energy and about 500 MW of marine energy (tide, wave and ocean).
Renewable generation capacity increased by 152 GW or 8.3% during
2015, making this the sixth consecutive year that renewable capacity
has grown by about 8% or more. Wind energy capacity increased by
63 GW (17%) followed by solar energy, with an increase of 47 GW (26%).
Hydropower capacity increased by 35 GW, while both bioenergy and
geothermal energy increased by 5% (5 GW and 1 GW respectively).
Overall, capacity has increased by about one-third over the last five
years, with most of this growth coming from new installations of wind and
solar energy.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Hydropower Wind Solar Bioenergy Geothermal
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Capacity added in 2015
GW GW
61%22%
11%
6%
Hydro Wind Solar Others
HEADLINE
FIGURES
Global renewable
generation capacity
at the end of 2015
Growth in renewable
capacity during 2015,
the highest rate ever
Increase in global
renewable generation
capacity in 2015
Share of new
renewable capacity
installed in Asia in 2015
Renewable capacity
growth in Central
America and the
Caribbean in 2015
Number of countries
that installed over
1 GW of renewable
capacity in 2015
IRENA’s renewable
energy statistics can be
downloaded from
resourceirena.irena.org

2. For the complete dataset see: IRENA, 2016, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2016, available at: www.irena.org/publications
Over 80% of renewable capacity is in Asia, Europe and North America. In 2015, Asia accounted for
58% of new capacity, bringing its total to almost 800 GW or 40% of global capacity. Asia was also
one of the fastest growing regions, with a 12.4% increase in renewable capacity. Capacity increased
by 24 GW (5.2%) in Europe and 20 GW (6.3%) in North America.
With the exception of South America, the other global regions account for a smaller share of global
renewable capacity, but capacity increased by about 5% or more in all of these regions. Particularly
noticeable was the increase of 14.5% in Central America and the Caribbean, where a number of
major solar plants were commissioned in 2015. However, the expansion of renewables remains mostly
focused on a few countries, with only 19 countries installing over one gigawatt during 2015 and these
countries accounting for over 90%.
Hydropower: In 2015, three-quarters of
new hydro capacity was installed in
Brazil, China, India and Turkey (26.3 GW
in total). Over one gigawatt of new capacity
was also installed in Europe, North America and
the Middle East (Iran), plus 550 MW in Africa.
Wind energy: About 95% of wind
capacity is located in Asia (China and
India), Europe and North America; and
90% of new capacity was installed in those
regions in 2015 (57.1 GW). However, wind energy
is also starting to expand rapidly in other regions
such as South America, where capacity
increased by 3.1 GW (40%) in 2015.
Bioenergy: Almost 40% of bioenergy
capacity is in Europe, with another 30%
in Asia and the remainder divided
equally between North and South America.
Growth in 2015 was similarly distributed, with an
increase of 1.8 GW in Europe, 1.7 GW in Asia and
the remainder elsewhere.
Solar energy: At the end of 2015, Europe
accounted for 43% of global solar
capacity, with another 40% in Asia
(mostly China and Japan) and 13% in North
America. The major development in 2015 was
the 48% increase in solar capacity in Asia, where
15 GW of new capacity was installed in China
and another 10 GW in Japan. An increase of
8 GW in North America also surpassed the level
of new installations in Europe (7.6 GW) for the first
time. Capacity also expanded significantly in
Oceania and Africa, with additions of 1 GW and
0.9 GW respectively. Almost all of the growth in
2015 came from increases in solar photovoltaic
capacity, with concentrated solar power
expanding by a relatively modest 270 MW.
Geothermal energy: Geothermal power
capacity increased by about 600 MW in
2015. Four countries (Italy, Mexico,
Turkey and the United States of America)
accounted for almost all of this increase.
Capacity 497 GW
Global share 25%
Increase +24 GW
Growth +5.2%
Capacity 330 GW
Global share 17%
Increase +20 GW
Growth +6.3%
Capacity 89 GW
Global share 4%
Increase +4.0 GW
Growth +4.7%
Capacity 17 GW
Global share 1%
Increase +1.3 GW
Growth +7.8%
Capacity 797 GW
Global share 40%
Increase +88 GW
Growth +12.4%
Capacity 26 GW
Global share 1%
Increase +1.4 GW
Growth +5.6%
Capacity 37 GW
Global share 2%
Increase +2.2 GW
Growth +6.3%
Capacity 12 GW
Global share 1%
Increase +1.5 GW
Growth +14.5%
Capacity 180 GW
Global share 9%
Increase +9.1 GW
Growth +5.3%