The landscape of electricity generation is undergoing a significant shift towards renewable energy.
Wind and solar power have outpaced all other energy sources, marking a transformative period in how we produce electricity.
This rapid growth has reached a critical point where it’s outstripping the increase in global energy demand, hinting at a future where fossil fuels could take a back seat.
Renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, contributed to 30% of the world’s electricity supply last year, a historic high.
However, despite these milestones, there’s an urgency to boost the rate at which clean energy sources are deployed.
To reach global targets, renewable energy capacity must triple by 2030.
This would not only slash emissions from power generation in half, but also align with the ambitious 1.5°C climate goal set by the Paris Agreement.
Expansion of Renewable Energy Capacity
In the recent year, there’s been a notable uptick in the amount of electricity generated by solar power, vastly outpacing the new power contributions from coal.
Specifically, the proportion of solar power in the global energy landscape climbed to 5.5%, showing a noteworthy increase from the preceding year’s 4.6%. Meanwhile, wind power’s contribution held steady, accounting for 7.8% of the global electricity supply.
The growth rate of solar and wind power as electricity sources is unparalleled when compared to historical data for other energy types.
For instance, it took solar and wind only eight and twelve years, respectively, to surge from generating 100 terawatt hours to 1,000 terawatt hours each year.
This rapid development eclipsed that of gas, coal, and hydropower, which took much longer to see similar growth.
Despite this headway, solar and wind energy faced a slight slowdown in generation growth during the year, with solar energy’s generation growth not quite keeping pace with the rate of capacity additions, which were at a record high.
Lower-than-average sunlight conditions, particularly in China, coupled with some underreported generation data, are suspected to be behind this anomaly.
Renewable Energy Facts for 2023:
- Solar Energy: Jumped to 5.5% of global energy mix.
- Wind Energy: Maintained a 7.8% share.
- Growth from 100 to 1,000 TWh: Solar energy took 8 years, Wind energy took 12 years.
On the wind front, the industry encountered its first decrease in generation since the early 2000s, attributed to less favorable wind conditions and financial challenges delaying investment and project rollout.
More than 30 billion USD worth of wind projects faced obstacles, postponing the launch of at least 10 significant offshore wind ventures across the United States and Europe.
Hydropower, while still holding the title of the largest source of clean power, witnessed its share dip to 14.3% of the global electricity mix, the lowest since 2000.
Although new hydropower installations continued, adding 7 gigawatts over the year, their influence waned in comparison to the combined rise of wind and solar energy.
The expectation was that these shifts in energy sources would lead to a slight decrement in emissions from the power sector. Instead, due to the decreased production of hydropower energy, a small increase in emissions occurred, as coal power had to fill in the gap left by hydro.
To sum it up, wind and solar have significantly risen from a minuscule 0.2% share of the global electricity mix at the turn of the millennium to an impressive 13.4% by 2023, underscoring their growing role in the global move towards sustainable power generation.
Surging Global Electricity Needs
As the world leans more on technology, energy consumption is hitting unprecedented levels.
In fact, last year the growth in global electricity needs was akin to Canada’s entire power usage.
Renewable sources like wind and solar saw significant expansion, contributing to over half a billion terawatt-hours (TWh) to the grid, alongside a modest increase from nuclear power.
However, not all the news is green; hydroelectric power experienced a decrease — a trend necessitating a heavier reliance on fossil fuels to satiate the still growing energy appetite.
Global Power Demand Shifts:
- Record Increase: A surge of 627 TWh in 2023 outpaced previous years.
- Renewable Contributions: Wind and solar energy production up by 513 TWh.
- Notable Decline: Hydroelectric power generation dropped by 88 TWh.
- Fossil Fuels Fill the Gap: Diminishing renewable sources were compensated by fossil fuels.
Regional Demand Trends:
- OECD Countries:
- United States: A decrease in energy use by 1.4%.
- European Union: A drop off of 3.4%.
- Non-OECD Countries:
- China: Nearly 7% increase in electricity usage, mirroring global growth rates.
The electrification of various sectors — think electric vehicles (EVs), climate control, and data processing — was the principal driver of the demand hike.
The uptake of EVs is particularly noteworthy, with millions more hitting the roads, marking a rise of 35% in registrations from the previous year.
The EV Revolution:
- 2023 saw 14 million new registrations globally, totaling 40 million EVs.
- Sales bumped up by 3.5 million, a 35% increase from 2022.
Looking forward, the demand for electricity is not just expected to rise; it’s forecasted to soar, with projections showing nearly a trillion TWh of growth this coming year.
Renewable resources are likely to outpace this demand, thanks to legislative boosts like the US’s Inflation Reduction Act, and a rebound in hydroelectric production.
Power generation in 2024 is poised for a cleaner shift:
- Expected Increases: Wind, solar, and other renewables to add roughly 1,300 TWh.
- Fossil Fuel Reduction: Predicted decrease in fossil generation by 2%.
These figures suggest a landmark shift away from carbon-heavy power sources.
As industries and innovations no longer align with fossil fuels, the decline in their usage isn’t just expected; it’s deemed inevitable, paving the way for reduced carbon emissions.
In the words of energy and climate luminary Christiana Figueres, we’re at a decisive moment, moving past the fossil fuel era and embracing the cutting-edge, cost-effective potential of renewable energy.
Expanding Renewable Energy Threefold
The collective decision at the COP28 climate gathering in Dubai to amplify renewable energy capacity across the globe signals a pivotal advancement towards maintaining the planet’s temperature increase within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The ambitious but non-specific consensus involves magnifying the generation of clean energy by 2030 to a point where it’s triple that of 2022’s output. This would account for adding around 14,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable energy annually by 2030.
Current renewable energy statistics:
- Renewable energy in 2022: 8,599 TWh
- Total global electricity produced in 2022: 28,844 TWh
Should the upsurge in renewable energy come to fruition, forecasts suggest a significant decline in fossil fuel-based generation – by about 37%. The reduction would primarily affect coal power, leading to a 45% drop in emissions from the power sector by 2030.
Trends indicating a shift away from fossil fuels:
- Growth of fossil fuel generation 2004-2013: 3.5% annually
- Growth of fossil fuel generation to 2023: 1.3% annually
- Reduction in potential fossil fuel generation by 2023 due to renewables: 22%
- CO2 emissions averted by wind and solar 2015-2023: over 4 Gt
Meeting the expansion goals could result in renewables providing 60% of the global electricity supply by 2030.
Though in 2023, renewables comprised over 30% of the energy mix in 102 countries—an increase from 98 countries the previous year—only 69 of those nations surpassed the 50% threshold.
If the global community successfully triples its renewable capacity, it could significantly steer towards the path necessary to meet the 1.5-degree target.
According to energy experts, by focusing on the elements that enable the growth of solar and wind energy, countries have an unparalleled chance to position themselves at the vanguard of the clean energy revolution.
