Renewable energy sources: Progress, challenges, and environmental benefits

Available online--This paper presents an integrated analysis of renewable energy sources in 2023 using international energy and climate datasets published during 2023 and 2024. The study examines developments in solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, marine, and hydrogen technologies and evaluates their contribution to global energy supply in the context of Net Zero Emissions (NZE) targets. Renewable energy deployment continued to expand during 2023 and reached its highest annual growth on record. Global renewable capacity additions amounted to 510 GW, while solar and wind technologies represented 96% of new installations. As a result, renewable electricity generation increased to 30% of global electricity production. The strongest growth was observed in solar PV, whose installed capacity increased by 346 GW and reached 1419 GW by the end of 2023. Despite these developments, the global energy system remained heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels accounted for 81.47% of total primary energy consumption, whereas the contribution of renewable energy sources was 14.56%. At the same time, global greenhouse gas emissions reached 53.0 GtCO2eq, atmospheric CO2 concentration increased to 419.3 ppm, and global temperature rose to 1.45 ± 0.12°C above pre-industrial levels. The study shows that several challenges continue to slow the expansion of renewable energy. Limitations in grid infrastructure, insufficient investment, policy and regulatory barriers, and inadequate energy storage capacity remain major constraints, particularly in developing economies. Although renewable energy deployment reached record levels in 2023, progress remained below the pace required to achieve NZE targets. Stronger policy support, expanded grid infrastructure, increased climate finance, and greater international cooperation will be necessary to close this gap and support further progress toward NZE targets.