Asia's renewables capacity to more than double by 2026

Asia's share in global renewables capacity will surge to 48%.

Renewables capacity in Asia will more than double between 2016 and 2026, with growth driven primarily by wind and solar power projects, according to BMI Research. China will be the major force behind capacity growth in Asia, but India and Southeast Asia will register strong growth, as environmental policy rises up the political agenda.

Asia's role in the global renewables industry will increase over the firm's 10-year forecast to 2026, and the region's share in the global renewables capacity mix will
rise from just over 42% in 2016 to around 48% in 2026.

Here's more from BMI Research:

This is in part due to the slowdown we anticipate in the European market, which currently accounts for a significant proportion of the global renewables industry, but also due to strong capacity growth across the Asia region.

In fact, we expect renewables capacity in Asia to surge by over 110% between 2016 and 2026, rising from 370GW to nearly 805GW. Additional capacity will mostly comprise new wind and solar power capacity.

A number of factors are driving this uptake in capacity, including the falling cost of wind and solar technology, advances in green technology that are making renewable energy accessible and more economically viable in a growing number of markets, and the implementation of more stringent environmental policy in the region.

This will mean that non-hydro renewables will be the fastest growing segment in the Asian power mix over the coming decade, albeit from a lower base.