Nigeria’s renewable energy stagnates as global capacity hits 4,448GW

Nigeria’s renewable energy capacity stagnated at 3,026 megawatts (MW) in 2024, falling behind several African countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia, Angola and Morocco.

This comes as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in a report released yesterday, said there is a record global increase in renewable electricity, which reached 4,448 gigawatts (GW) last year.

Nigeria saw minimal growth from 3,025MW in 2023, while Africa’s total renewable energy capacity rose from 62,672MW in 2023 to 66,898MW last year. South Africa led the continent with over 11,000MW of renewable energy, up from 10,000MW in 2023. Egypt followed with over 7,000MW, while Ethiopia reached more than 6,000MW. Other major contributors surpassing Nigeria included Angola and Morocco, exceeding 4,000MW alongside Zambia.

Globally, renewable energy additions in 2024 reached 585GW, accounting for 92.5 per cent of total capacity expansion and marking a record yearly growth rate of 15.1 per cent.

Despite this progress, it remains insufficient to meet the global target of tripling installed renewable energy capacity to 11.2 terawatts by 2030. Achieving this goal would require an annual expansion rate of 16.6 per cent.

However, growth remained uneven across regions. Asia led the expansion, with China alone accounting for nearly 64 per cent of new global capacity. Central America and the Caribbean contributed the least, at just 3.2 per cent. The G7 and G20 nations accounted for 14.3 per cent and 90.3 per cent of the new capacity, respectively. IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera, in the report, stressed the need for accelerated efforts.

“The continuous growth of renewables we witness each year is evidence that renewables are economically viable and readily deployable. Each year, they keep breaking their expansion records, but we also face the same challenges of great regional disparities and the ticking clock as the 2030 deadline is imminent,” La Camera said.

He urged governments to use the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) as an opportunity to set clear renewable energy marks while calling on the international community to strengthen collaboration with Global South countries.

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, also commenting on the global transition to clean energy, noted that renewable energy is powering down the fossil fuel age.

He said: “Record-breaking growth is creating jobs, lowering energy bills and cleaning our air. Renewables renew economies. But the shift to clean energy must be faster and fairer – with all countries given the chance to fully benefit from cheap, clean renewable power.”

Solar and wind energy dominated global expansion in 2024, together accounting for 96.6 per cent of all new renewable capacity. Solar photovoltaics saw the largest increase, growing by 451.9GW, with China alone adding 278GW. Hydropower capacity rebounded to reach 1,283GW, driven by China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam.