Global renewable power capacity will quadruple over this past decade, rising from 414 gigawatts (GW) in 2009 to 1,650 GW by the end of 2019, fueled by $2.6 trillion of investment.

Attracting half the investment total ($1.3 trillion), global solar power capacity is on track to rise 26 times its level over the decade, from 25 GW in 2009 to an estimated 638 GW by the end of the year, more than any other electricity generation technology, according to the latest Global Trends in Renewable Investment report commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

More broadly, in 2018 renewables (excluding large hydroelectric >50 MW) accounted for 12.9% of global electricity generation, avoiding 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Investment in new renewable power capacity reached $272.9 billion last year, triple that for fossil fuel generation, according to the report, which was produced by BloombergNEF.

Dramatic improvements in renewable energy economics, performance

UNEP released the report in advance of the 2019 UN Global Climate Action Summit, which is to open September 23 at the UN's headquarters in New York City. "Including all generating technologies (fossil and zero-carbon), the decade is set to see a net 2,366 GW of power capacity installed, with solar accounting for the largest single share (638 GW), coal second (529 GW), and wind and gas in third and fourth places (487 GW and 438 GW respectively)," UNEP highlights in a press release.

Dramatically improved economics have been key to the decade-long rise in renewable power investment and capacity. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has dropped 81% since 2009 and that for onshore wind 46% over the period, according to the report.

Turning to developments in 2018, a record-high 167 GW of new renewable power capacity was installed globally, up from 160 GW in 2017. Global investment in renewable power capacity totaled $272.9 billion for the year, down 12% from 2017. Nonetheless, 2018's total marked the ninth consecutive year global renewable power investment exceeded $200 billion and the fifth consecutive year it topped $250 billion.

The falling capital costs of renewable power generation on a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) or megawatt-hour (MWh) accounted for part of the percentage decline. In other words, investments are getting more emissions-free electrical power for their dollar, euro, yuan or yen than they were in the past. China's shift to unsubsidized power markets contributed to the decline, as well, according to the report.

"Sharp falls in the cost of electricity from wind and solar over recent years have transformed the choice facing policy-makers. These technologies were always low-carbon and relatively quick to build. Now, in many countries around the world, either wind or solar is the cheapest option for electricity generation," BloombergNEF CEO Jon Moore was quoted as saying.

Investments in associated, supporting technologies and companies rose across the board in 2018, the report highlights. Government and corporate R&D in renewable energy rose 10% year-over-year (YoY) totaling $13.1 billion. Renewable energy companies raised on public markets rose 6%, totaling $6 billion, while venture capital and private equity investment increased 35%, totaling $2 billion.

More needs to be done, and faster

Renewables will account for two-thirds of German power generation within 10 years, highlighted Svenja Schulze, Germany's Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. "The technologies to use wind, sun or geothermal energy are available, they are competitive and clean...We are demonstrating that an industrial country can phase out coal and, at the same time, nuclear energy without putting its economy at risk. We know that renewables make sense for the climate and for the economy."

"Investing in renewable energy is investing in a sustainable and profitable future, as the last decade of incredible growth in renewables has shown," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

More needs to be done, and faster, if UN Paris Agreement climate change goals are to be realized and the worst prospective effects of rapid climate change are to be avoided, however, UNEP warns. "[W]e cannot afford to be complacent. Global power sector emissions have risen about 10 percent over this period. It is clear that we need to rapidly step up the pace of the global switch to renewables if we are to meet international climate and development goals," Andersen cautioned.

"[W]e are not investing nearly enough to decarbonize power production, transport and heat in time to limit global warming to 2C or ideally 1.5C," Schulze added. "If we want to achieve a safe and sustainable future, we need to do a lot more now in terms of creating an enabling-regulatory environment and infrastructure that encourage investment in renewables."