Renewable energy has moved from the periphery of global energy planning to its center, driven by climate imperatives, energy security concerns, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. This paper synthesizes recent literature (2023–2026) on the adoption of renewable energy technologies and their contribution to sustainable development. Drawing on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and empirical panel studies, the review examines the major technological pathways driving adoption, including solar photovoltaics, wind power, and battery energy storage; the policy instruments that shape deployment, such as feed-in tariffs, carbon pricing, and green finance mechanisms; and the social dimensions of community engagement and public acceptance. The evidence indicates that renewable energy deployment is strongly associated with reduced per-capita carbon emissions and, in many contexts, with improved economic and human development outcomes, although the strength of these relationships varies across income levels and governance settings. Persistent barriers include high upfront capital costs and unequal access to affordable financing, technical constraints related to the intermittency of wind and solar generation, fragmented regulatory frameworks, and uneven social acceptance shaped by questions of procedural fairness and distributional justice. The review concludes that accelerating renewable energy adoption in a manner consistent with sustainable development will require coordinated action across financing structures, grid infrastructure, and community-inclusive governance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries that face disproportionate structural barriers. Implications for policymakers, practitioners, and future research are discussed.