Wind and solar power reached a record 12% share of global electricity generation in 2022, up from 10% in 2021, with China leading the way in both sectors, according to a report by an independent think tank.
Solar power was the fastest growing source of electricity for the 18th consecutive year, up 24% year-on-year, according to the fourth Global Electricity Review published by Ember, a UK-based energy and climate research group.
Global growth in wind and solar power was driven primarily by increased use in China, which accounted for 37% of the global increase. The share of solar energy in global energy production last year was 4.5%, or 1,284 terawatt hours, up from 3.7% in 2021. One terawatt hour is equal to 1 trillion watts of power for one hour .
Meanwhile, 312 terawatt hours of wind power will be added to global electricity generation in 2022. This means that wind now contributes 7.6%, or 2,160 terawatt hours, of the international energy mix, up from 6.6 % from last year, an increase of 17% per year. -in the year.
Ember said that 2022 is “a turning point in the global transition to clean energy.”
“2022 surpassed 2020 as the cleanest year on record, as emissions intensity reached a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh (grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated),” the report says. .
The data revealed that China emerged as the world leader in solar power, generating 418 terawatt hours of electricity, accounting for 4.7 percent of the country’s total electricity.
The report says that around one-fifth (or 55 gigawatts) of all solar panels installed globally in 2022 were on China’s rooftops, driven largely by a groundbreaking three-year policy called “Rooftop Solar entire county” which began in 2021.
China also maintained its position as the world’s largest wind power generator in 2022, with a 9.3% wind share in its electricity mix.
Denmark led the way in wind generation by percentage share, with 55% of its electricity coming from wind power alone, while Chile topped the list of countries with the largest solar share, with 17% solar power in its production. Of electricity.
In the US, the share of wind and solar power in total electricity generation increased from 13% in 2021 to 15%, or 644 terawatt hours, in 2022. About 60% of its electricity still comes from fuels fossil fuels, with a large part coming from gas, followed by coal.
80% of the increase in global electricity demand will be met by new wind and solar generation in 2022, according to the report that compiled 2022 electricity data from 78 countries, representing 93% of global electricity demand.
“Electricity is cleaner than ever, but we are using more,” the report said.
The combination of all renewable energy sources and nuclear power accounted for a 39% share of global electricity generation last year, a new record.
The energy sector is the most significant global contributor to planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.
China, the largest emitter of CO2 due to coal
Among the top 10 emitters in the energy sector, China led the world three times more than the US, the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Ember said China produced the most CO2 emissions of any energy sector in the world last year, with coal alone accounting for 61% of China’s electricity mix, a 17-point drop. percentages from 78% in 2000, although in absolute terms, there are five. times higher compared to the beginning of this century.
With 4,694 million metric tons of CO2, China accounted for 38% of total global emissions from electricity generation.
Yet China alone accounted for 53% of the world’s coal-fired electricity generation in 2022, showing a dramatic revival in appetite as new coal-fired power plants were announced, allowed and built in spectacular fashion in China.
“China is the world’s largest coal-powered country, but also the absolute leader in wind and solar generation,” said Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, lead author of the report and a senior electricity analyst at Ember.
“Decisions made about energy in the country have global implications. If fossil fuel generation peaks globally in 2023, it is highly dependent on China.”
Li Shuo, Greenpeace’s senior policy adviser on East Asia, said China is “the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to the global energy sector.”
“China has certainly been leading the global expansion of renewable energy. But at the same time, the country is speeding up the approval of coal projects,” Li said, adding that such a dichotomous relationship “won’t get the country far to truly decarbonize.”
Coal power remained the largest source of electricity worldwide in 2022, producing 36%, or 10,186 terawatt hours, of global electricity.
In 2022, coal power increased by 108 terawatt hours, an increase of 1.1%, reaching an all-time high, largely attributed to the global gas crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war and the restart of power plants coal-fired power plants to meet the demand of some countries. .
The use of coal for electricity increased in India by 7.2%, in the EU by 6.4%, in Japan by 3.1% and in China by 1.5%.
Gas-fired power generation fell 0.2%. Overall, that still meant power sector emissions rose 1.3% in 2022, reaching an all-time high of 12.431 million metric tons of CO2, according to the report.
Without renewables, it is estimated that electricity sector emissions from fossil fuels would have been 20% higher in 2022.
Last year may have been the “peak” for electricity emissions and the last year of growth for fossil power, with clean power covering all demand growth this year, according to Ember’s forecast.
According to the International Energy Agency model, the electricity sector must go from being the sector with the highest emissions to the first sector to reach net zero by 2040 to achieve net zero across the economy by 2050.
This would mean that wind and solar power would reach 41% of global electricity by 2030, compared to 12% in 2022.
Edited by Mike Firn.
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