Microsoft: How Much Renewable Energy Does the World Have?

The renewable energy industry is booming.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Global Energy Review, the world’s appetite for energy rose at a faster-than-average pace in 2024.

In turn, there is a higher demand for all energy sources — from oil and gas to renewables.

The agency found that renewables accounted for most of the growth in global energy supply, making up 38%.

But how much energy are renewable assets creating worldwide? And where are they?

This is a question a consortium of technology, energy and sustainability companies have set out to answer.

Introducing Global Renewables Watch

Global Renewables Watch (GRW) is a first-of-its-kind “living atlas”, which works to map and measure all utility-scale solar and wind installations worldwide using AI and satellite imagery.

Launched by Microsoft, Planet Labs and The Nature Conservancy in 2022, GRW allows users to evaluate clean energy transition progress and track trends.

The project is spearheaded by Microsoft’s CVP and Chief Data Scientist Juan Lavista Ferres, Will Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO of Planet Labs and The Nature Conservancy’s CEO Jennifer Morris.

“Each of the partners brings unique knowledge and value-add to this initiative,” Will said on the project’s launch.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so by combining Microsoft’s AI and cloud computing capabilities, Planet’s comprehensive and high-resolution satellite imagery and The Nature Conservancy’s deep subject-matter expertise, we hope to build a powerful platform for surfacing — and democratising access to — renewable energy data.”

Juan added: “The world needs access to data in order to make responsible environmental decisions.

“The Global Renewables Watch will serve as a critical tool for understanding humanity’s progress toward fulfilling the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”

Now, more than two years after its launch, GRW’s dataset is now publicly available.

Juan says: “At a time when we need to increase energy production, Global Renewables Watch marks a significant milestone. 

“Accelerating renewable energy efforts requires a strategic approach that not only unlocks new energy generation but also protects natural areas and aligns with community goals.

“We could not deploy GRW effectively without the speed and scale AI provides.”

The project started by mapping solar and wind energy installations in Germany and India.

Since, it has scaled to provide a detailed overview of the global clean energy landscape. 

“By mapping and measuring renewable energy installations worldwide, Global Renewables Watch offers valuable insights into progress and trends of clean energy,” he continues.

“Access to this data is crucial for the public and private sectors to power growing economies and manage key resources.

“I’m grateful to our partners, The Nature Conservancy and Planet Labs PBC, for their expert guidance and invaluable contribution of data to build this digital public good.”

The benefits of GRW

As well as being a place where details of renewable energy projects are compiled, 

• Years of mapping: By leveraging global models, GRW delivers accurate and current insights into renewable energy installations, with mapping going back to 2018
• Regional knowledge: With regional insights into renewable energy production and development trends by country, GRW gives an overview of renewable data at both subnational and national levels 
• Publicly available: Now the data is fully available to the public, GRW allows researchers, policymakers and the general public to leverage the data to make change for good.

When pulled together, these benefits have resulted in some key findings.

Jennifer said on its launch: “Global Renewables Watch is exactly the kind of action we need to see.

“This will be a publicly accessible resource to help researchers and policymakers understand current capacities and gaps so that decision-makers can scale much-needed renewable energy resources in a responsible, nature-friendly way.”

In just two years, GRW has done what it set out to do — and will continue to provide data to encourage the ongoing uptake of renewable projects and the shift away from fossil fuels.

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