World Reaches 30% Renewable Energy Milestone in 2023
In its fifth annual Global Electricity Review, London-based nonprofit and energy think tank Ember has produced the first comprehensive overview of changes in global electricity generation in 2023. A key finding is that renewable energy sources produced a record share of global electricity.
Global electricity reached a record high in 2023 of 29,471 terawatt-hours (TWh), largely due to electric vehicles, heat pumps, electrolyzers, air conditioning, and data centers.
The 627 TWh increase in electricity demand from 2022 was mostly from China (606 TWh) and India (99 TWh). These increases were mostly offset by decreases in the EU and US.
Global electricity shares from renewables reached a record 30% in 2023, compared with 19% (15,277 TWh) in 2000. Electricity generation from solar (5.5% or 1,631 TWh) and wind (7.8% or 2,304 TWh) comprised close to half of the 30%.
In 2023, global hydropower generation reached a five-year low of 4,210 TWh, partially due to droughts.
Global electricity generation shares from nuclear remained unchanged in 2023 at 9.1% (2,686 TWh).
Global electricity from coal increased modestly to 10,434 TWh in 2023 from 10,288 TWh in 2022. Around 95% of this increase came from countries severely affected by drought, including China, India, Vietnam, and Mexico.
The world average of global electricity consumption per capita was 3.7 MWh in 2023.
Canada and the US had the highest electricity consumption per capita, at 15.9 MWh and 12.7 MWh, respectively. South Korea was third at 11.8 MWh.
The carbon dioxide intensity of global power generation reached a record low of 480 gCO2/kWh, down from 486 gCO2/kWh in 2022.
Global power sector emissions were 14,153 million tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) in 2023. China had the highest emissions of 5,491 MtCO2 (39% of total), followed by the US at 1,570 MtCO2 (11% of total).
In 2024, global electricity demand is projected to rise by 968 TWh (a 3.3% increase) to 30,439 TWh.
Note: 1 MWh = 1 megawatt-hour; 1 TWh = 1 terawatt-hour
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