Wind and solar reached a record 12-percent share of global electricity generation in 2022, up from 10 percent in 2021, according to the latest Global Electricity Review released Wednesday by independent energy think-tank Ember.
The growing electricity generation from wind and solar is forecast to push the world into a new era of falling fossil generation and power sector emissions from 2023, the fourth annual report found.
“In this decisive decade for the climate, it is the beginning of the end of the fossil age,” said Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, report author and Ember’s electricity analyst. “We are entering the clean power era.”
The report presents electricity data from 2022 in 78 countries, representing 93 percent of global electricity demand.
The share of wind in global electricity generation reached 7.6% in 2022, up from 6.6 percent in the previous year. Electricity generation from wind rose by 17 percent year-on-year, enough to power almost all of the UK.
Solar’s share was 4.5 percent in the world’s power output last year, up from 3.7 percent in 2021.
Solar became the fastest-growing source of electricity for the 18th year in a row, growing by 24 percent year-on-year and adding enough electricity to power all of South Africa.
The growth in solar power’s share across the world was driven by the rise in China, accounting for 37 percent of the global increase, while the growth in US solar generation accounted for 17% of the global rise.
Over 60 countries now generate more than 10 percent of their electricity from wind and solar, the data reveals.
The rise in electricity generation from wind and solar last year met 80 percent of the increase in global electricity demand, which reached 2.5 percent compared to the previous year.
CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE
