Last year was challenging for many investors. High interest rates were a serious hurdle for the global economy.

Most industries struggled with a rising cost of capital, but there was one that kept growing regardless.

It’s an industry that the Financial Star readers are well aware of.

About a year ago, we wrote:

“As the world moves towards a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future, the importance of green energy will only continue to grow.”

This is exactly what we saw in 2023, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) has just confirmed that.

A Global Expansion

The latest report from IEA found that global expansion of renewable energy capacity reached 507 gigawatts (GW), almost 50% higher than its 2022 level.

This figure exceeded previous growth outlooks of about 440 GW for 2023.

Most of it came from China. The country more than doubled its solar power capacity, which grew 116% over 2022.

The expansion in wind farms was not as stellar, but the country still added 66% in a year.

While China clearly led the pack, other nations supported the trend.

The US, Europe, and other developed nations showed significant expansion in green energy generation.

Developing countries, such as India, Brazil, and others, have boosted their clean power capacity too.

These developing nations have even more room for expansion. Despite the growing adoption of clean energy sources, these still burn a lot of carbon-heavy commodities to keep their economies going.

This will change… and much sooner than expected.

Growth Ahead

Along with the actual figures for 2023, IEA provided an updated five-year outlook.

Depending on what scenario you look at, the world will keep adding from over 600 GW to 900 GW a year.

Yet, this is still too slow to reach net-zero goals outlined by the United Nations.

The agency is targeting 11,000 GW of renewable power capacity by 2030. Last year, it barely passed 4,000 GW. Hence, adding almost 7,000 GW in a few years may be challenging.

This is where we see a tremendous investment opportunity.

No matter the economic conditions, we’ll see hefty spending toward green energy. Leading nations will do almost anything to reach this goal.

That means more nuclear power stations, solar panels, wind turbines, hydropower plants, and other renewable energy sources to be added.

All of these use a large amount of critical minerals, such as uranium, copper, nickel, aluminum, etc.

Don’t forget about the distribution and storage of this energy, either.

Upgraded power grids and industrial-scale batteries will be part of the transition, too.

Not Too Late

Those who think they’ve missed the green energy trend are wrong.

A massive global expansion is only gaining momentum. We’ll likely see further gains in the sector and related commodities.

It’s not too late to secure your seat for this megatrend and position your portfolio for further gains.

Stay tuned for our research, where we highlight the best investment opportunities for our readers.

Thank you for your loyal readership,

The Financial Star team