Today, we are thrilled to share that Global Renewables Watch, a first-of-its-kind living atlas mapping and measuring utility-scale solar and wind installations across the Earth, is now live to the public! First announced in 2022, this collaborative initiative between Planet, Microsoft, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was made possible by combining Planet’s satellite data, Microsoft’s advanced AI technology, and TNC’s renewable energy subject matter expertise.

This data-rich platform is built on Planet’s PlanetScope basemaps, offering high-cadence satellite imagery dating back to 2018. With this time-series data, users can evaluate energy transitions country-by-country, monitor land-use changes, and track trends over time. With the robust technical capabilities of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, and TNC’s scientific rigor, the insights delivered in this platform offer an enlightening glimpse of a rapidly changing world.

We’ve opened the gates to this platform to democratize energy data, making the real-world stories inside this atlas available to policymakers, researchers, and decision makers. Today, we already witnessed how access to this platform informed robust energy reporting by The New York Times.

So, what are some of the other key findings coming out of this atlas?

Our friends at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab and TNC validated these striking insights in the data:

Solar

1. The world’s solar land coverage has nearly tripled over the past seven years.
2. Asia continues to lead the solar landscape, holding 61% of the worldwide solar installed land area.
3. Meanwhile, Oceania has experienced the most growth, expanding at a rate of 7x, far exceeding the global average of nearly 3x.
4. Most countries in Africa and Middle East or northern Africa like Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, experience high levels of annual solar irradiance. Despite their high potential, much of this region remains untapped, offering a significant opportunity for renewable energy development.

Wind

1. Onshore wind turbines have more than doubled over the years, reaching 375K by the end of 2024-Q2.
2. The United States and China lead the world in total wind installations, while European countries lead per capita.
3. More than half of Europe’s wind turbines are concentrated in five countries—Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy—with Germany hosting 28% of all wind turbines in Europe.
4. Brazil leads Latin America in total wind turbines, ranking 6th in the world.

These insights help us see how the globe is changing and evolving in the 21st century. We invite governments, policymakers, scientists, and renewable energy practitioners to leverage this powerful resource for their work. By integrating our tool into your strategies and research, you can make informed decisions, drive impactful policies, and accelerate the transition to a clean, green, and equitable energy future.

Explore the Global Renewables Watch.

Have specific questions? Contact us!

• Microsoft Global Renewables Watch Team: grwinfo@microsoft.com
• The Nature Conservancy Ayla Norris Smith, Climate Communications Manager: ayla.norrissmith@tnc.org
• Planet GRW: grw@planet.com