Energy Transition Investment Trends - 2026

Global investment in renewable energy reached approximately $683 billion in 2025 and is projected to exceed $700 billion in 2026. This trajectory underscores the sustained momentum behind the energy transition despite numerous macroeconomic headwinds, such as rising inflation and policy shifts, that have challenged project economics and reduced investor confidence. While the pace of growth is moderating from the rapid acceleration seen earlier in the decade, investment continues to expand across both established and emerging technologies.

• Regionally, APAC continues to lead renewable energy investment, accounting for 59% of global investment in 2025. This position is underpinned by ambitious deployment targets, including India's objective of reaching 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. At the same time, China's rising investment in coal power highlights how surging electricity demand is driving a parallel push for firm capacity alongside renewables.
• Europe maintains a substantial renewable energy investment presence, shaped by the energy security imperative that has accelerated renewable buildout since 2022 and supported by EU policy frameworks, including the Green Deal and REPowerEU.
• Solar PV and onshore wind continue to dominate new energy investment, accounting for 72% of global new power investment in 2025. Nuclear energy is attracting renewed investment as the case for low-carbon firm generation strengthens. A key constraint is emerging in network infrastructure. Transmission investment is lagging renewable deployment, increasing the risk of interconnection delays and grid congestion. Scaling investment in energy storage will be critical to maintain system reliability and flexibility.
• Investment in emerging technologies is increasingly differentiated by end-use industry demand. Hydrogen continues to attract substantial capital commitments, but the rate of project execution continues to impact investment volumes, as high costs, infrastructure gaps, and offtake uncertainty are prompting the sector to enter a phase of consolidation. By contrast, investment in renewable standalone refineries and CCUS remains smaller in absolute terms. Still, these technologies are showing stronger indicators of project progression, supported by comparatively higher technological readiness, clearer demand signals from hard-to-abate sectors, and a supportive, albeit still evolving, policy environment.

Key Highlights

• Despite elevated geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, investment trends show that global capital flows to the power sector are set to rise in 2026 to ~$815 billion, a 3% rise versus 2025.
• Around $705 billion is going collectively to renewable power generation, almost 9 times as much as the ~$83 billion invested into fossil fuel-fired generation.
• Solar PV and offshore wind are set to experience the largest reduction in project costs between 2025 and 2030, at 63% and 45%, respectively.
• In 2025, solar PV received 53% of global investment in the power generation sector, a significant increase from its 22% share in 2015.
• Solar PV's rise to investment dominance reflects a substantial reduction in module costs, driven by Chinese manufacturing scale and supply chain maturation.
• Coal- and gas-fired power are expected to see the largest decreases in investment share from 2015 to 2030, with coal's share falling by 12% and gas's falling by 8%. Though coal- and gas-fired power investment persists in emerging and developing economies, with growing industrial activity and energy security concerns, this reduction reflects a structural shift driven by carbon pricing mechanisms, such as the EU's Emission Trading System.
• Despite the accelerating pace of renewable energy investment in the power sector, the CAPEX invested across oil and gas operations remains substantial in absolute terms, underscoring the continued role of hydrocarbons in meeting near-term global energy demand.

Scope

• This report examines the global investment landscape across mature and emerging energy technologies. It provides a breakdown of investment trends by region and technology, assessing key policy and technological drivers contributing to leadership shares, such as global average project costs by technology.
• The report also assesses macroeconomic factors impacting energy transition investment trends, such as geopolitical tensions, inflation, and energy security but also looks at how the rise of AI and the subsequent proliferation of data centers is reshaping investment across power generation.
• The report also looks at investment trends across more emerging technologies (hydrogen, CCUS, and renewable refineries) where technology costs and demand levels are challenging project economics.

Reasons to Buy

• Identify the trends within the global energy transition investment mix from 2015-2030, including assessing the breakdown of power generation investment by region, technology, and country.
• Identify the macroeconomic factors impacting global power investment trends
• Assess the impact of the rise of data centers and AI on power demand, and how that is shifting the investment landscape
• Gain insight into key technological trends, including investments in different renewable energy technologies, transmission systems, energy storage, and fossil fuels, alongside average project costs by technology
• Assess the role of emerging technologies in the energy transition, focusing on investment trends across hydrogen, CCUS, and renewable standalone refineries