At 4.9 TW, Global Wind, Solar Growth Surges—But Not in the G7: Report

A new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) noted that the global pipeline of wind and utility-scale solar projects expanded to a record 4.9 terawatts (TW) in 2025, yet the world’s wealthiest economies are no longer driving the clean energy buildout.

In a press release, GEM said G7 countries, despite controlling roughly half of global wealth, account for only 11% of the world’s prospective wind and utility-scale solar capacity. This showed that G7 countries, despite their wealth, fall notably behind China and the rest of the world in year-over-year prospective capacity growth. 

Their combined pipeline has remained largely unchanged at about 520 gigawatts (GW) since 2023, highlighting a widening gap between climate ambition and implementation in advanced economies. It also indicated that the tripling goal would fall short by 1 TW of wind and 1.6 TW of utility-scale solar capacity, even if every wind and utility-scale solar project with a planned start year by 2030 comes online. 

It further noted that there is uneven progress in the clean energy transition around the world, with nations like China accounting for more than 1.5 TW of prospective wind and utility-scale solar capacity. This roughly matched the combined capacity of six countries: Brazil (401 GW), Australia (368 GW), India (234 GW), the United States (226 GW), Spain (165 GW), and the Philippines (146 GW). 

Brazil, India, Philippines Among Top Seven Wind, Solar Project Markets

GEM said the announced, pre-construction, and in-construction wind and utility-scale solar capacity grew 11% year-over-year (YoY), rising from 4.4 TW to more than 4.9 TW. However, overall momentum continues, growth is increasingly concentrated in emerging economies.

China continued to host the largest renewable energy project share with 448 GW of wind and utility-scale solar projects currently under construction—half the global total. Its combined operating wind and solar capacity surpassed 1.6 TW in 2025, triple the combined capacity of its closest peers. On the other hand, the United States and India. Brazil (401 GW), India (234 GW) and the Philippines (146 GW) are stands among the top seven countries with prospective wind and utility-scale solar capacity.

Additionally, GEM’s previous analysis revealed that almost 40% of all planned projects are either late to come online or end up shelved or cancelled. While prospective wind and utility-scale solar projects with unknown commissioning dates could compensate for the deficit, it pointed out that issues like political barriers and implementation disincentives could delay their deployment.

In addition, GEM’s Global Solar Power Tracker reports nearly 900 GW of operating distributed solar capacity, which plays a significant role in the clean energy transition. China, India and Brazil are among the top ten countries globally for distributed solar capacity in operation.

The study also noted that distributed solar capacity is highly concentrated, with the top 10 countries accounting for 90% of the reported global total. Among these leading contributors, China accounts for roughly 489 GW—more than seven times Germany’s 69 GW. Several G7 countries, including Germany, the United States, Italy, Japan and France, also feature among the countries with the largest reported distributed solar capacity.

Diren Kocakuşak, Research Analyst for Global Energy Monitor, said, “Wind and solar are scaling at breakneck speed, and much of that momentum is coming from countries once seen as energy followers. The question now is whether wealthier countries will close the gap between ambition and execution, or cede leadership in this booming growth sector.”