According to Global Energy Monitor (GEM), the pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew by 20% to reach nearly 5 terawatts (TW) by 2024.
In its latest Global Solar Power Tracker and Global Wind Power Tracker, GEM stated that utility-scale solar and wind are largely equal in their prospective development, at 2 TW and 2.5 TW, respectively.
This figure includes all projects that have been announced, entered pre-construction, or are currently under construction for solar capacity of more than 1 megawatt (MW) and utility-scale wind capacity of more than 10 MW.
China has the largest prospective capacity for both solar and wind, at more than 1.3 TW, accounting for more than a quarter of all prospective capacity globally. They are followed by Brazil (417 gigawatts (GW)), Australia (372 GW), the United States (218 GW) and Spain (144 GW).
GEM also noted that “the world’s richest countries account for only a fraction of new construction.” G7 countries, which hold a 45% share of global gross domestic product, are building just 59 GW, compared to China, which is responsible for more than 70% of current utility-scale solar and wind construction globally, or more than 416 GW.
Despite this, these large economies are more likely than China and the rest of the world to finish projects on time.
GEM said that approximately 76% of solar and wind projects in G7 countries came online within the originally planned timeframe. This figure drops to 55% in China and even further to 52% in other non-G7 countries.
