In the year 2022, the world experienced the cleanest-ever electricity supply as carbon intensity of global electricity generation dropped to a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh with wind and solar power generation growing 19% or 557 TWh YoY, accounting for 12% global electricity share, says Ember in its new report.
Of the global electricity generation mix, clean electricity sources, read renewables and nuclear, accounted for a 39% share, led by hydro with 15%, nuclear 9%, wind 7.6% and solar 4.5%. Fossil fuels still represented the largest share of 61% that came from coal (36%), fossil gas (22%), and other fossils (3%).
Solar energy generated 1,284 TWh in 2022. Since the Paris Agreement in 2015 solar's market share has grown to 4.5% with growth across all G20 countries. According to the IEA, solar generation needs to rise to 7,552 TWh by 2030 to keep global warming to 1.5C.
More than 60 countries now generate more than 10% of their electricity from wind and solar. Growth in power generation capacity of these 2 renewable energy sources in 2022 with over 557 TWh helped the world meet 80% of the increase in electricity demand. The European Union (EU) generated 22% of its electricity from wind and solar led by Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, followed by Poland, Hungary and Turkey.
The world's largest solar market China had wind and solar meeting 69% of the growth in electricity demand last year, whereas in India these 2 met 23% of the demand growth and 68% in the US.
Solar has been the fastest growing electricity source for each of the last 18 years and due to its speed of deployment and less amount of time needed to install and commission a system compared to wind, in 2023 solar is anticipated to provide more generation than wind for the 1st time.
"In the short term, there is a huge opportunity for solar to grow even faster than forecast," reads the report. "Policymakers must harness the influx of solar power. That means understanding what it means for skills needed, changes to market design and tariffs (given the solar generation profile is quite specific), unlocking rooftop access, auction design for utility scale, power system flexibility, solar manufacturing supply chains and trade policy."
Wind and solar power are helping slow the rise of power sector emissions, and in 2023 clean power growth is likely to exceed electricity demand growth. Nonetheless, for the world to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2040 there is a need to have other clean electricity sources growing as well.
Notably, coal power plant closures were the lowest in last 7 years since the energy crisis had countries maintaining it for back-up capacity, yet there wasn't a major increase in coal burn as feared, as per the report.
"As soon as 2023, wind and solar could push the world into a new era of falling fossil generation, and therefore of falling power sector emissions," forecast Ember analysts.
Ember makes these observations in the 4th edition of its Global Electricity Review 2023 covering 78 nations that represent 93% of the global power demand in 2022. It is available on its website for free download.