The 2026 edition combines insights from over 100 energy professionals globally with real-world data from more than 64,000 projects designed on the RatedPower platform, representing over 5.1 TW of simulated capacity.
Global momentum remains strong. In 2025 alone, renewable additions reached 793 GW, with solar PV accounting for 83 percent of new capacity. For the first time, renewables surpassed coal in global electricity generation, marking a structural turning point for the energy system. Looking ahead, the International Energy Agency projects 4,600 GW of new renewable capacity between 2025 and 2030, nearly double the pace of the previous five-year period.
Despite this growth, survey results show mounting pressure on infrastructure and markets. While respondents rate their confidence in the sector’s long-term outlook at an average of 4.4 out of 5, grid saturation and instability (63.7 percent) and permitting and regulation (47.8 percent) remain the most cited barriers to progress. Importantly, grid-related concerns have persisted at elevated levels for four consecutive years, underscoring that congestion and curtailment are becoming structural rather than temporary challenges in high-penetration regions.
The report highlights a sharp rise in market volatility. Negative power prices, once limited to isolated periods, are now emerging as a recurring feature in parts of Europe, Australia, and Latin America, driven by rapid solar buildout and limited system flexibility. Respondents consistently point to energy storage, flexible dispatch, and smarter grid coordination as the most effective levers to preserve project economics under these conditions.
Technology and design practices are already shifting in response. RatedPower platform data confirms that bifacial modules dominate more than 90 percent of simulated projects, while string inverters now account for over 60 percent of simulations, reflecting their growing role in modular, grid-responsive designs. Hybrid solar-plus-storage projects have accelerated sharply, rising from 12 percent of simulations in 2024 to 20 percent by Q4 2025, with AC-coupled BESS preferred in 83 percent of cases. The standalone BESS feature, launched on the RatedPower platform just over a year ago, now represents 3 percent of total simulations, signalling growing commercial interest beyond collocated projects.
Digitalisation is emerging as a defining trend. 55 percent of surveyed professionals already use advanced digital tools to support permitting and site feasibility, while 56 percent utilise drone imagery and LiDAR in early-stage design. Respondents identified AI-driven optimisation, forecasting, and predictive maintenance as the technologies most likely to transform renewables over the next five years, particularly as electricity demand rises from electrification and data centre expansion.
“AI is on the rise, and the massive energy requirements of data centers will be driving the expansion of renewable energies in the next decade” said Diego Lobo Guerrero Rodriguez, Iqony Renewables GmbH, in the report, commenting on this shift.
Regionally, survey respondents continued to highlight China, the United States, India, Australia, and Saudi Arabia as the markets with the strongest growth potential. Europe remains a global leader in renewable penetration, but faces intensifying challenges from curtailment, grid congestion, and negative pricing. Emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia are increasingly positioning solar plus storage as a cornerstone of grid stability and energy access, with storage markets expected to more than double globally by 2030.
For additional information:
