The global energy transition accelerated markedly in 2024, with renewable capacity additions reaching a record 473 GW — a figure larger than the entire installed power generation capacity of most countries. Solar power dominated, accounting for 73% of new installations as panel costs continued their long-run decline. Total global renewable capacity now stands at approximately 3,870 GW, surpassing coal-fired generation capacity for the first time in history. Wind and solar together supply 14.5% of global electricity generation — a share that was negligible just fifteen years ago. Against this backdrop, Argentina's own energy transition story is both promising and contradictory.
The global investment landscape
The scale of capital being deployed in renewable energy is reshaping the global energy system at speed. China invested USD 757 billion in clean energy in 2024 — more than the United States, European Union and rest of the world combined — cementing its position as both the world's largest clean energy market and the dominant manufacturer of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. The United States invested USD 303 billion, partly driven by the Inflation Reduction Act's industrial policy framework, while Germany invested USD 78 billion despite its ongoing transition away from nuclear and toward renewables. The concentration of manufacturing capacity in China creates both supply chain efficiencies and geopolitical dependencies that are reshaping international energy and trade policy discussions across all major economies.
Argentina's paradoxical position
Argentina occupies a paradoxical position in the global energy transition. On one hand, the country expanded its renewable electricity share to 18.7% of the electricity mix by 2024 — a significant achievement given its starting point of under 2% a decade earlier. On the other hand, Argentina is simultaneously planning to triple its LNG exports from the Vaca Muerta shale formation, targeting USD 10 billion in annual hydrocarbon export revenues by 2030. This dual-track approach — decarbonizing domestic electricity while expanding fossil fuel export capacity — reflects the country's fundamental economic calculus: hydrocarbon exports generate the foreign exchange needed to service debt and fund imports, while renewable energy development reduces domestic energy costs and import dependence for refined fuels.
Green hydrogen: a long-term opportunity
Perhaps Argentina's most distinctive potential contribution to the global energy transition lies in green hydrogen — hydrogen produced by electrolysis powered by renewable electricity. With Patagonian wind resources ranked among the world's strongest and most consistent, and vast uninhabited land available for large-scale installations, Argentina has been identified by multiple international energy agencies as among the countries with the best natural conditions for cost-competitive green hydrogen production. Thirty-eight development projects with a combined potential capacity of 20 GW are currently in various stages of planning or early development. The economics of green hydrogen export — whether via pipeline, as ammonia, or as liquefied hydrogen — remain challenging at current costs, but the trajectory of electrolyzer cost declines suggests viability within this decade for the best-sited projects.
Risks, opportunities and the data context
The energy transition creates both risks and opportunities for an energy-exporting country like Argentina. The primary risk is stranded assets: if global demand for fossil fuels declines faster than anticipated, the substantial investments planned for Vaca Muerta LNG infrastructure could become economically unviable before recovering their costs. The primary opportunity is the country's competitive position in renewable energy and green hydrogen, which could generate new export revenue streams and reduce chronic balance-of-payments vulnerabilities. Tracking how Argentina's energy consumption, production and trade evolve against the global backdrop requires detailed time-series data on the full energy system. Our dashboard on energy consumption and our dashboard on the national energy balance provide comprehensive data on how Argentina's energy mix is evolving across primary sources, transformation sectors and end uses.
