1,700 GW of Renewable Projects Stalled Worldwide Due to Grid Constraints: IEA World Energy Outlook Report

The latest World Energy Outlook 2025 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted a growing surplus in clean energy technology manufacturing, driven largely by a rapid expansion in global solar module capacity. In 2024, production capacity for solar modules was nearly twice the actual output, while battery cell capacity was about three times higher, with a large portion of the excess ending up in inventories.

A major concern in what the IEA calls the “Age of Electricity” is the imbalance between generation and grid investment. Since 2015, investments in electricity generation have surged by almost 70% to $1 trillion annually, yet annual spending on grids has grown at less than half that pace, reaching only USD 400 billion. This uneven growth has contributed to rising curtailment of wind and solar output and more frequent negative pricing in wholesale electricity markets.

The report added that slow permitting processes and tight markets for key components such as transformers continue to delay grid expansion. In China, curtailment thresholds for wind and solar PV were also raised in 2024 to address system imbalances.

Energy Investment to Rise 50%

The IEA noted that global energy investment surpassed USD 3.2 trillion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 3.3 trillion in 2025. Annual investment in power generation has climbed from around USD 600 billion in 2015 to over USD 1 trillion today, driven by soaring solar PV deployment.

However, grid investment has lagged, inching up to only USD 400 billion. While the rise in battery storage—with annual additions exceeding 75 gigawatts (GW) in 2024—has helped ease some pressures, it cannot fully offset grid constraints.
The report also revealed that around 1,700 GW of renewable projects at advanced stages of development remain stalled due to a lack of grid connections.

Solar and Battery Costs Plummet 80%

Several clean energy technologies have witnessed dramatic cost declines and performance gains over the past decade. The global average prices of solar PV modules and electric vehicle batteries dropped by more than 80% between 2014 and 2024.
As a result, the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from solar PV is now among the lowest in history. However, the IEA noted that competitiveness should also account for the broader value different technologies bring to power systems.

Despite these gains, global energy demand patterns remain complex. Renewables set new deployment records in 2024 for the 23rd consecutive year, yet consumption of oil, gas, coal, and even nuclear power also hit record highs.
Driven largely by China, demand for coal has grown 50% faster than for natural gas since 2019—one of the key reasons energy-related emissions continue to rise.

David Tong, Global Industry Campaign Manager at Oil Change International, said, "Holding warming to 1.5ºC means no further delay, no new fossil fuels, and public planning and funding to guarantee a just energy transition. Yet the U.S. is trying to put this path - the only route to survival - beyond reach by reviving an outdated, fossil-fuelled scenario that assumes governments abandon their efforts and progress stalls."