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Renewable energy now accounts for more than 30% of the world’s electricity mix — but our part of the world is lagging behind. Driven primarily by growth in solar and wind generation capacity, renewable energy generation has risen to an unprecedented 30% of global electricity mix, nearing the goal set by over 100 countries at COP28 to triple renewable capacity by 2030, according to a new report (pdf) by think tank Ember.
The methodology: The report analyzes electricity data from 215 countries, including the latest 2023 data for 80 countries that represent 92% of global electricity demand. Regional countries included in the analysis include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Turkey, and Iraq, all of which were listed among the 25 largest absolute emitters of CO2.
The findings: Solar and wind now generate 13.4% of the world’s electricity, growing nearly a full nine percentage points since 2015, the report finds. Together, clean sources generated almost 40% of the world’s electricity and the CO2 intensity of global power generation reached a new record low in 2023 — 12% below its peak in 2007, Ember concludes.
The Kingdom has some ways to go to make renewables a significant component of its energy mix: Nearly all of Saudi Arabia’s electricity generation comes from fossil fuels at 99.8%. Solar made up 0.2% of the power mix, while no other renewable energy sources were used. Saudi Arabia has ambitious targets in place to have renewable energy account for 50% of its electricity generation by 2030.
Elsewhere in the region: Egypt relied on fossil fuels for 88% of its electricity last year, revealing a slower installation rate for renewables, especially for its vast untapped solar potential. Egypt is Africa’s largest fossil gas generator, contributing 45% of the continent’s gas generation in 2022. Fossil fuels contributed 83% of the UAE’s electricity. Nuclear power constitutes the largest share of its clean electricity at 13%, while wind and solar combined account for 4.5%. Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait are the world’s three highest per capita power sector emitters, and are all highly dependent on gas, according to Ember. Bahrain’s per capita gas generation reached 24.3k kWh per capita while Qatar’s stood at 20.2k kWh, representing nearly 100% of their electricity from gas.
The world is at a turning point: Fossil fuel generation is expected to fall by 2% worldwide this year as a result of a larger predicted renewables generation compared to fossil fuels. Renewable energy has already hindered fossil fuel growth by two-thirds in the last decade, and consequently, half of the world’s economies have passed the peak for fossil fuel electricity generation. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries are ahead of the game as their power sector emissions peaked in 2007, falling 28% since then.
Solar power led the charge: Solar power has overtaken wind as the largest contributor of clean energy for the second year in a row, and has been the fastest growing electricity generation source for 19 consecutive years. Between 2022 to 2023, solar additions shot up by 76%.
And it’s expected to grow even further in 2024: Lower costs, government support, advanced technology, and increased manufacturing capabilities have allowed for significant growth in the solar industry. Global solar generation rose only 23% last year, but 2024 is expected to further reflect the boom in capacity.
Hydropower plans fell through: Hydropower generation reached a five-year low due to drought conditions. Clean capacity added in 2023 could have reduced fossil generation by 1.1% under normal circumstances, but instead the hydropower shortage led to increased coal generation. Increasing global power sector emissions by 1%. The majority of this increase in coal generation occurred in four drought-affected countries — China, India, Vietnam, and Mexico.
Global challenges remain: While government targets and industry forecasts indicate continued acceleration in renewable energy growth, slower growth in nuclear and hydro power and the need for improved energy efficiency and grid infrastructure have hindered progress. Despite these issues, the dominance of wind and solar power points to the end of the fossil fuel era, the report concludes.
