Energy is the main source of economic development of any country, but for various reasons the energy security of countries using traditional energy sources may be threatened. There is a need to improve energy security, as well as to develop the energy potential of the state. Renewable energy sources (RES), which have already proved their validity and have demonstrated significant improvement in technical and economic indicators over the last decade, can serve as a solution. This article summarizes the practical experience of RES power generation worldwide. By analyzing the leading countries in the introduction of RES, the world capacity indices of the most widespread RES are obtained. The largest RES-based projects in terms of capacity are identified, compared with each other and the world generation, and analyzed on the basis of the average capacity of a power plant operating on classical fuels.