Despite fossil fuels dominating, wind and solar are surging

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<header><h1>Despite fossil fuels dominating, wind and solar are surging</h1><a href="" rel="author"></a><span class="title"></span><time rel="pubdate" datetime="2024-05-15T00:00:00-04:00">May 15</time></header><p><span data-contrast="none">Wind and solar power&#8217;s slice of the global electricity pie is surging, having increased roughly sevenfold over the last dozen or so years.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Together, these renewable energy sources of power generated 13.4% of the world’s electricity in 2023, up from a mere 1.78% in 2010, according to climate think tank </span><a href="https://ember-climate.org/data/data-tools/data-explorer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Ember</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Renewable energy, including wind, solar and hydropower, generated a record 30% of the world’s electricity last year, according to a </span><a href="https://ember-climate.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">report</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> released by the think tank last week.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Despite that record, Ember’s data indicates hydropower and zero-emitting nuclear energy have actually decreased their contributions to the global electricity mix slightly since 2010.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">While hydropower is still the world’s largest source of clean power, its share in the world’s energy mix is at its lowest level since 2000. Droughts in recent years have reduced hydropower output in many parts of the world. Meanwhile, some countries moved to </span><a href="https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/fukushima-disaster-didnt-scare-world-nuclear-power#:~:text=Still%2C%20it%20prompted%20Taiwan%20and,against%20rebuilding%20their%20nuclear%20sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">reduce</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> their reliance on nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, although in recent years nuclear has been seen more and more as playing a key </span><a href="https://www.iea.org/news/nuclear-power-can-play-a-major-role-in-enabling-secure-transitions-to-low-emissions-energy-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">role</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> in the energy transition.</span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Fossil fuels still dominate the world’s energy mix, and helped meet rising electricity demand last year, Ember noted.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
Despite fossil fuels dominating, wind and solar are surging

by  - 

May 15, 2024


Wind and solar power’s slice of the global electricity pie is surging, having increased roughly sevenfold over the last dozen or so years.
Together, these renewable energy sources of power generated 13.4% of the world’s electricity in 2023, up from a mere 1.78% in 2010, according to climate think tank Ember.
Renewable energy, including wind, solar and hydropower, generated a record 30% of the world’s electricity last year, according to a report released by the think tank last week.
Despite that record, Ember’s data indicates hydropower and zero-emitting nuclear energy have actually decreased their contributions to the global electricity mix slightly since 2010.
While hydropower is still the world’s largest source of clean power, its share in the world’s energy mix is at its lowest level since 2000. Droughts in recent years have reduced hydropower output in many parts of the world. Meanwhile, some countries moved to reduce their reliance on nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, although in recent years nuclear has been seen more and more as playing a key role in the energy transition.
Fossil fuels still dominate the world’s energy mix, and helped meet rising electricity demand last year, Ember noted.