The share of wind and solar energy in global electricity production reached a record of 12 percent in 2022, breaking a record. While the share of solar energy in global electricity production was 4.5%, wind, in which the absolute increase was observed the most in 2022, increasing its share in global electricity generation to 7.6%. Turkey’s rapid progress in the transition to renewable resources, on the other hand, was above the global average with a share of 15% of the energy produced by wind and solar energy. 

Ember, the London based think-tank, ma- king research in the field of energy, pub- lished the fourth of the Global Electricity Review. In the report, including the changes related with production and analyzing the data collected from 78 countries which represent the 93% of global energy demand in the world, it’s estimated that with the energy from the wind and the sun which have rising shares in electricity generation, beginning from thai year, an era of decrease in the fossil based generation and the emissions. The report, additionally takes an in-depth look at the top 10 countries and regions responsible for more than 80% of the world’s carbon emissions. Ember’s Global Electricity Review aims to provide the most transparent and up-to-date review of changes in global electricity production in 2022 and a realistic summary of the electricity transition pathway to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

The global electricity sector is the first sector that needs to be decarbonised, in parallel with electricity demand rising, as electrification unlocks emissions cuts th- roughout the entire economy. The IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario points to a 2040 net zero power sector; ten years ahead of a net zero economy in 2050. Tracking the electricity transition, therefore, is critical to assess our climate progress. 

The decarbonisation of the power sector is underway, as record growth in wind and solar drove the emissions intensity of the world’s electricity to its lowest ever level in 2022. It will be an impressive moment when power sector emissions begin to fall year-on-year, but the world is not there yet, and emissions need to be falling fast. 

01 Electricity at its cleanest, as wind and solar generate 12% of global power 

The carbon intensity of global electricity generation fell to a record low of 436 gCO2/ kWh in 2022, the cleanest ever electricity. This was due to record growth in wind and solar, which reached a 12% share in the global electricity mix, up from 10% in 2021. Together, all clean electricity sources (renewables and nuclear) reached 39% of global electricity, a new record high. Solar generation rose by 24%, making it the fastest growing electricity source for 18 years in a row; wind generation grew by 17%. The increase in global solar generation in 2022 could have met the annual electricity demand of South Africa, and the rise in wind generation could have powered almost all of the UK. Over sixty countries now generate more than 10% of their electricity from wind and solar. However, other sources of clean electricity dropped for the first time since 2011 due to a fall in nuclear output and fewer new nuclear and hydro plants coming online. 

02 Limited coal increase, gas plateaus 

Power sector emissions rose in 2022 (+1.3%), reaching an all-time high. Electri- city is cleaner than ever, but we are using more of it. Coal generation increased by 1.1%, in line with average growth in the last decade. The ‘coal power phase down’ agreed at COP26 in 2021 may not have begun in 2022, but also the energy crisis didn’t lead to a major increase in coal burn as many feared. 

Gas power generation fell marginally (-0.2%) in 2022 for the second time in three years in the wake of high gas prices globally. Gas-to-coal switching was limited in 2022 because gas was already mostly more expensive than coal in 2021. Only 31 GW of new gas power plants were built in 2022, the lowest in 18 years. But 2022 saw the lowest number of coal plant closures in seven years, as countries look to maintain back-up capacity, even as the transition picks up speed. 

03 2022 may be “peak” power emissions 

Wind and solar are slowing the rise in power sector emissions. If all the electricity from wind and solar instead came from fossil generation, power sector emissions would have been 20% higher in 2022. The growth alone in wind and solar generation (+557 TWh) met 80% of global electricity demand growth in 2022 (+694 TWh). Clean power growth is likely to exceed electricity demand growth in 2023; this would be the first year for this to happen outside of a recession. With average growth in electricity demand and clean power, we forecast that 2023 will see a small fall in fossil generation (-47 TWh, -0.3%), with bigger falls in subsequent years as wind and solar grow further. That would mean 2022 hit “peak” emissions. A new era of falling power sector emissions is close. 

Wind 

Wind power produced 7.6% (2,160 TWh) of global electricity in 2022. China was the biggest generator of wind power at 824 TWh, (9.3% of its electricity mix), while Denmark had the highest wind generation by percentage share at 55% (19 TWh). Germany had both the third highest generation of any country (126 TWh) and the sixth highest share in the mix at 22%. 

Role of wind in net zero 

Wind generation, alongside solar, is key to reducing emissions in the electricity sector. Both sources will form the backbone of the future electricity system by providing nearly 70% of global electricity by 2050. Therefore, rapid scale-up is required this decade. 

Change in 2022 

In 2022, wind was the electricity source with the largest absolute increase. Global wind electricity generation increased by 17% (+312 TWh), from 1,848 TWh in 2021 to 2,160 TWh in 2022. Only solar recorded higher relative growth. Wind’s share in the global electricity mix also grew by one per centage point, from 6.6% in 2021 to 7.6%. 

Wind power growth in China accounted for more than half of the global increase (+168 TWh, +26%). However, wind power rose ac- ross the globe. The US (+56 TWh, +15%) and the EU (+34 TWh, +8.8%) recorded significant increases in wind generation, and so did the UK (+15 TWh, +23%), Brazil (+8.5 TWh, +12%) and Viet Nam (+6.3 TWh, +262%) among many others. 

Ukraine experienced a decline in wind generation due to the impact of the war, with much of its wind capacity in regions affected by hostilities, according to the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy. Only a few other countries with very low levels of wind generation had declines. 

Long-term trend 

Wind generation has increased rapidly in the last two decades. In 2000, wind generation was 31 TWh with a global share of power of only 0.2%. In 2022, wind generation was 2,129 TWh higher, reaching 2,160 TWh. Consequently, the market share has increased to 7.6%. 

Similar to solar generation, wind generation has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Between 2000 and 2015, generation grew at a relatively high annual rate of 24%. However, absolute increases remained small, with wind generation reaching 828 TWh and a 3.5% share of global generation in 2015. Since then, absolute growth has increased significantly, to add an additional 1,332 TWh in just seven years. Relative growth has slowed, with wind generation recording an annual growth rate of 15% during this period. 2022 saw slightly higher growth, with wind generation increasing by 17% (+312 TWh). 

Remarkably, wind’s market share has grown in all G20 countries during that period. In Germany and the UK, wind power now ac- counts for over 20% of generation (22% and 25% respectively) and is even higher for smaller countries like Denmark (55%), Ire- land and Uruguay (both 33%). 

Progress towards net zero 

For a 1.5C power sector pathway, wind generation needs to increase to 7,840 TWh by 2030, as per the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario. This would require an increase of 17% per year from 2021 to 2030, reaching 21% of global generation. In 2022, wind ac- hieved this growth rate, but from 2015 to 2022, average yearly growth was slightly lower at 15%. 

The global electricity system is transfor- ming – but not yet fast enough 

Wind and solar are the new energy su- perpowers. They are pushing us towards a new era of falling fossil generation, which will mean not only a phase down of coal power but also of gas power. But we’re not there yet. Keeping global heating to 1.5 degrees means delivering on the huge expectations set for wind and solar, and picking up speed on other clean electricity sources (including nuclear and hydro) that are currently being built too slowly. There remains much work to be done to achieve the rapid falls in power sector emissions needed this decade. 

Same journey, different speeds 

Solar and wind are changing the electricity mix in every region of the world. Europe started that shift earliest, and has been leading throughout this century. However, recently Europe has been overtaken by Oceania, mostly due to rapid growth in Australia. North America also started wind and solar deployment early and has been ahead of the global average. Asia started later, but is catching up fast, and is now almost at the world average. Latin America’s wind and solar surged from 2014 to 2021, but then slowed in 2022. Africa has slowed in the last few years. The Middle East stands out as the only region that is still at the start of its journey, with poor data transparency that also makes it difficult to estimate changes in 2022. 

Leaders and laggards 

The EU generated 22% of its electricity from wind and solar in 2022. Seven EU countries generated around a third or more of their electricity from wind and solar in 2022, including Germany (32%), Spain (33%) and the Netherlands (32%). Poland and Hungary are now above the global average of 12%. At the edge of Europe the picture is varied: Türkiye is above the global average, at 15%, Russia is at 1%. 

In North America, the US (15%) is above the global average; Canada is behind at 7%. 

Three of the world’s top five absolute generators of wind and solar are in Asia. China is above the global average, at 14% (1241 TWh); Japan is just under the global average at 11% (107 TWh) India, is just under, at 9% (165 TWh). Most other countries in Asia are at the start of their solar and wind journey: South Korea (5%), Pakistan (4%), Thailand (4%), the Philippines (2%), Singapore (2%), Bangladesh (1%) and Malaysia (1%). All Eurasian count- ries, except for Kazakhstan, have almost zero. 

In Latin America, many countries are at or above the global average: Uruguay (36%), Chile (28%), Brazil (15%), Argentina (12%). However, some countries for example, Cuba (1.4%), Colombia (0.7%), Ecuador (0.3%), Venezuela (0.1%) and Paraguay (0.0%) have built little so far. Apart from Cuba, however, they do all have a high clean share because of large hydro resources. 

In Africa, Namibia (25%), Morocco (17%) and Kenya (16%) lead for wind and solar share. But elsewhere reliance on solar and wind is mostly far below the global average. 

In the Middle East, solar and wind have yet to establish themselves. Many countries have under 1% in the mix. This includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has published big plans for renewables, however with little demonstrable progress towards those so far.