New capacity additions are projected to expand by 670 gigawatts (GW) from 2025 to 2030, with solar photovoltaic sources from India accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total. Hydropower is also driving the surge, largely because of accelerated commissioning of both conventional and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) projects in India. Offshore wind capacity is set to almost quadruple due to the rollout of the first large-scale projects in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
India comprises over half of the expected growth in the region, adding about 345 GW of renewable electricity capacity, as it poised to have the world’s second largest national market for renewables increase through 2030, after China. Pakistan follows India by deploying 9 per cent of the region’s renewable energy, with Japan and Australia next in line.
India’s auction of 63 GW of utility-scale renewable power capacity last year – a record-high volume for the world’s most populous country – makes up for nearly 60 per cent of its growth. Half of projects from the auction were from hybrid tenders, which combines solar, wind and battery storage systems.
Hydropower additions are also set to rise sharply in the South Asian nation with the completion of large-scale projects and a tripling of pumped storage hydropower capacity by 2030, as permitting becomes streamlined by the Central Electricity Authority, which approves the construction of large dams.
India accounts for over half of the expected growth in the Asia Pacific (ex-China) region during the period of 2025 to 2030. Image: IEA
With its renewable energy acceleration, India could surpass its 2030 ambition of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030, said the report.
“This growth could be achieved by addressing challenges related to the financial difficulties of many distribution companies, improving the enforcement of renewable portfolio standards, and reducing delays in signing power purchasing agreements with auctions winners,” said researchers.
Many distribution companies in India face financial distress due to mounting losses, inadequate tariffs and inefficient bill collection. These challenges prevent them from signing power purchase agreements, stalling renewable energy projects, based on recent data.
Pakistan is forecast to add nearly 60 GW of renewable power capacity, led by solar and hydropower, based on new estimates of unregistered off-grid solar deployment. About 16 GW of solar panels were imported last year but only 1.2 GW was registered to the government’s net metering scheme.
Japan and Australia’s new energy additions, especially in solar, are likewise seen to gain momentum in the next five years.
Clean energy rise bogged down by US, EU
Renewables around the world produced more electricity than coal for the first time on record in the first half of 2025, led by China and India, said a separate report from global energy think tank Ember.
However, the United States and the European Union slowed the momentum as their fossil fuel generation and emissions rose in the said period.
The rise of US and EU fossil fuel generation drags down global clean energy boom. Image: Ember
Unlike China, solar and wind in the US grew less than electricity demand, meeting only 65 per cent of the increase, read the study. Coal generation rose to fill the gap and also partly replaced gas, driving an increase in emissions. In the European Union, solar grew strongly, but dips in wind, hydropower and bioenergy led to an increase in gas generation, and to a lesser extent coal, causing a slight rise in emissions, wrote researchers.
Meanwhile, the IEA analysis noted that it halved its forecast for the growth of renewable energy in the US this decade. Last year, the agency predicted the US would add 500 GW of new renewable capacity, mostly from solar and wind, by 2030. But it now expects it to add 250 GW.
The global energy agency said its downward forecast reflects policy changes made by US president Donald Trump, including termination of clean electricity production and investment tax credits and the executive order suspending offshore wind leasing and restricting the permitting of onshore wind and solar PV projects on federal land. Among all technologies, wind is impacted most, with both offshore and onshore capacity growth revised down by almost 60 per cent over the forecast period.
