Power sector investment is measured in several different ways: spending on generation, grids and storage; capacity added; electricity costs; and the demand that new infrastructure must serve. The statistics below separate forecasts and estimates from observed outcomes and keep global, regional and U.S. measures distinct.
Key Power Sector Investment Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- $1.5 trillion was projected for global electricity-sector investment in 2025, covering generation, grids and storage worldwide.
- $2.2 trillion was projected for global clean-energy investment in 2025, including renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification.
- $3.3 trillion was projected for total global energy investment in 2025, according to the IEA forecast.
- Electricity investment was projected to be about 50% higher than fossil-fuel supply investment in 2025, comparing electricity infrastructure with bringing oil, gas and coal to market worldwide.
- 582 GW of renewable capacity was added globally in 2024, according to IRENA.
- 452.1 GW, or 77.8% of 2024 renewable additions, came from solar PV, worldwide.
- 91% of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable projects in 2024 had lower electricity costs than the cheapest new fossil-fuel alternative, in IRENA’s global comparison.
- Global weighted-average 2024 LCOE was $0.034/kWh for onshore wind, measured worldwide.
- Global grid spending was about $400 billion per year in 2025, compared with around $1 trillion on generation assets.
- Power-sector battery investment was projected at $66 billion globally in 2025, excluding batteries outside the power-sector measure.
- Advanced economies and China accounted for 80% of global grid spending in 2024, according to the IEA grouping.
- Global electricity demand grew 4.3% in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2023.
- China’s electricity consumption increased by more than 550 TWh, or 7%, in 2024, using the IEA consumption measure.
- Renewables and nuclear supplied more than 80% of global generation growth in 2024, while fossil generation supplied less than one-fifth.
- A U.S. 900-MW offshore wind plant was modeled at $3,711/kW overnight cost, with a four-year lead time for a plant available in 2029.
- A U.S. 2,156-MW conventional nuclear plant was modeled at $8,255/kW overnight cost, with a six-year lead time for a plant available in 2031.
Contents
- Global power sector investment scale and clean-energy trends
- Solar, wind and nuclear investment data
- Grid, storage and electricity infrastructure investment
- Regional power sector investment and financing concentration
- Electricity demand trends shaping investment
- U.S. power plant capital costs by technology
Global Power Sector Investment Scale and Clean-Energy Trends
The IEA projected global energy investment at $3.3 trillion in 2025. Clean-energy investment was projected at $2.2 trillion, while electricity-sector investment—generation, grids and storage—was projected at $1.5 trillion worldwide.
Source: Executive summary – World Energy Investment 2025. These are forecasts, not final outturns.
| Global measure | Period | Reported amount or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Total energy investment | 2025 forecast | $3.3 trillion |
| Clean-energy investment | 2025 forecast | $2.2 trillion |
| Electricity-sector investment | 2025 forecast | $1.5 trillion |
| Electricity versus oil, gas and coal supply | 2025 forecast | About 50% higher |
The IEA also assessed that low-emissions power-generation investment had almost doubled over the approximately five years to 2025. In 2024, global energy investment exceeded $3 trillion for the first time, with $2 trillion directed to clean-energy technologies and infrastructure.
Source: Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2024. The 2024 values are estimates.
The clean-power-to-unabated-fossil-power investment ratio was projected at 10:1 in 2024, compared with about 2:1 in 2015. Solar PV investment was projected to exceed $500 billion in 2024, illustrating how technology-specific spending can dominate aggregate power investment.
Solar, Wind and Nuclear Investment Data
Solar was projected to be the largest single energy-investment item in 2025, at $450 billion worldwide, including utility-scale and rooftop solar. Nuclear investment was projected to exceed $70 billion for new plants and refurbishments, after rising 50% over the approximately five years to 2025.
The IEA projected nuclear investment at $80 billion in 2024, nearly twice its 2018 level, with nuclear representing 9% of clean-power investment that year. These figures use the IEA’s definitions and mix historical values with projections.
Source: Executive summary – World Energy Investment 2025 and Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2024.
IRENA recorded 582 GW of renewable capacity additions in 2024, 19.8% above 2023. Solar PV supplied 452.1 GW, or 77.8%, and wind supplied 114.3 GW; total installed renewable capacity reached 4,443 GW at the end of 2024.
Source: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024. Capacity additions and installed capacity are not investment dollars or generation output.
| 2024 global renewable measure | Result | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable capacity additions | 582 GW | New capacity added during the year |
| Solar PV additions | 452.1 GW; 77.8% | Share of renewable additions |
| Wind additions | 114.3 GW | New wind capacity |
| Installed renewable capacity | 4,443 GW | Stock at year-end |
IRENA found that 91% of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable projects in 2024 had lower electricity costs than the cheapest new fossil-fuel alternative. The global weighted-average LCOE was $0.034/kWh for onshore wind, $0.043/kWh for solar PV and $0.057/kWh for hydropower.
These LCOE values are weighted averages, not bid prices or investor returns. Utility-scale PV balance-of-system costs excluding modules and inverters were about 65% of total installed costs in 2024, while global crystalline-silicon module costs fell 97% between January 2010 and December 2024; the module series is not total plant cost.
Grid, Storage and Electricity Infrastructure Investment
Grid investment is a separate part of power-sector capital allocation. Global grid spending was about $300 billion per year from 2015 before rising toward $400 billion in 2024, and it was about $400 billion per year in 2025 compared with around $1 trillion on generation assets.
Source: Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2024 and Executive summary – World Energy Investment 2025. The annual levels are rounded estimates.
Advanced economies and China accounted for 80% of global grid spending in 2024. This concentration matters because grid construction, interconnection and reinforcement can determine whether new generation capacity can reach electricity users.
Battery storage investment was projected above $50 billion globally in 2024 and at $66 billion in 2025 for the power sector. The measure is power-sector battery storage investment, not all battery investment.
In 2023, other emerging and developing economies received about $0.01 in battery-storage investment for every $1 invested in advanced economies and China. This is a relative concentration measure, not a statement that storage investment was absent elsewhere.
Regional Power Sector Investment and Financing Concentration
Clean-energy investment is unevenly distributed across regions. The IEA estimated that emerging and developing economies outside China accounted for around 15% of global clean-energy spending in 2024, with investment near $320 billion—more than 50% above 2020.
| Geography | 2024 clean-energy investment measure |
|---|---|
| China | Near $680 billion, projected |
| United States | Above $300 billion, estimated; 1.6 times 2020 |
| European Union | About $370 billion |
| Africa | Above $40 billion, nearly double 2020 |
| EMDEs outside China | Near $320 billion, more than 50% above 2020 |
Source: Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2024. These figures use the IEA clean-energy definition, not power generation alone, and several are estimates or projections.
China’s share of global clean-energy spending rose from one-quarter approximately a decade earlier to almost one-third in 2025. At the same time, China started construction on nearly 100 GW of new coal-fired plants in 2024, while India approved a further 15 GW of coal-fired plants.
The coal figures describe construction starts and approvals, not completed capacity or investment dollars. They therefore should not be combined with clean-energy spending as if they were the same measurement.
Source: Executive summary – World Energy Investment 2025.
Electricity Demand Trends Shaping Power Investment
Global electricity demand grew 4.3% in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2023, compared with an average annual growth rate of 2.7% from 2010 through 2023. Global electricity consumption increased by 1,080 TWh in 2024; the IEA measure excludes power-plant and industry own use plus transmission and distribution losses where specified.
Source: Electricity – Global Energy Review 2025.
China’s electricity consumption increased by more than 550 TWh, or 7%, in 2024. Advanced-economy consumption increased by 230 TWh after declining 140 TWh in 2023, while Southeast Asian consumption grew by more than 7% in 2024 versus about 4% in 2023.
Demand growth was concentrated in several end uses:
- Building electricity consumption rose more than 600 TWh, or 5%, in 2024 and represented nearly 60% of global consumption growth.
- Industry represented nearly 40% of total electricity-demand growth in 2024, with industrial electricity use rising nearly 4%.
- Transport-sector electricity use rose more than 8% globally in 2024.
Global electricity generation increased by more than 1,200 TWh, or 4%, in 2024. Renewables and nuclear supplied more than 80% of generation growth, while fossil-fuel generation increased just over 1% and supplied less than one-fifth of generation growth.
U.S. Power Plant Capital Costs by Technology
EIA’s AEO2026 estimates provide technology-specific U.S. overnight costs in 2025 dollars. Overnight cost excludes construction interest and tax credits, and several figures are national technology assumptions before regional factors.
| Technology and size | Plant available | Overnight cost | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,227-MW multi-shaft combined cycle | 2028 | $1,032/kW | 3 years |
| 627-MW single-shaft combined cycle | 2028 | $1,086/kW | 3 years |
| 419-MW industrial-frame combustion turbine | 2027 | $1,158/kW | 2 years |
| 150-MW tracking solar PV | 2027 | $1,484/kW | 2 years |
| 150-MW four-hour battery storage | 2026 | $1,521/kW | 1 year |
| 200-MW onshore wind | 2028 | $1,712/kW | 3 years |
| 150-MW solar PV plus storage | 2027 | $1,903/kW | 2 years |
| 900-MW offshore wind | 2029 | $3,711/kW | 4 years |
| 2,156-MW conventional nuclear | 2031 | $8,255/kW | 6 years |
| 480-MW small modular reactor | 2031 | $9,831/kW | 6 years |
Source: Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook 2026: Electricity Market Module. The battery row is storage rather than primary generation, and all rows are modeled estimates rather than observed costs for every project.
EIA’s AEO2026 financing assumptions use 60% debt and 40% equity for new builds, with a 5.7% average cost of debt for capacity builds from 2025 through 2050. These are modeling assumptions, not observed market financing for every U.S. project.