China consumes by far the most electricity of any country in the world, with almost 9,000 terawatt-hours equivalent consumed in 2024. The United States ranked as the second-leading electricity consumer that year, with over 4,000 terawatt-hours consumed. India followed, but by a wide margin. Production and consumption disparities China not only leads countries in electricity consumption worldwide, it also dominates production, generating over 10 petawatt-hours annually. The United States follows with 4.6 petawatt-hours, significantly more than its consumption of 4,065 terawatt-hours. This disparity underscores the complex relationship between production and consumption, influenced by factors such as energy efficiency, export capabilities, and domestic demand. The global expansion of electricity networks, particularly in Central and Southern Asia, is driving increased production to meet growing access and demand. Shifting energy landscapes The United States, as the second-largest consumer, is experiencing a significant shift in its energy mix. Coal-based electricity has declined by nearly 65 percent since 2010, giving way to natural gas and renewable sources. This transition is evident in recent capacity additions, with renewable energy sources accounting for almost 90 percent of new electricity capacity in 2025. The surge in renewable generation, particularly wind power, is reshaping the U.S. energy landscape and influencing consumption patterns. As renewable energy consumption is projected to more than double by 2050, the electricity market is adapting to these changing dynamics.

The leading countries for installed renewable energy in 2024 were China, the United States, and Brazil. China was the leader in renewable energy installations, with a capacity of around 1,827 gigawatts. The U.S., in second place, had a capacity of around 428 gigawatts. Renewable energy is an important step in addressing climate change and mitigating the consequences of this phenomenon. Renewable energy capacity and productionRenewable power capacity is defined as the maximum generating capacity of installations that use renewable sources to generate electricity. The share of renewable energy in the world’s power production has increased in recent years, surpassing 30 percent in 2023. Renewable energy consumption varies from country to country. The leading countries for renewable energy consumption are China, the United States, and Canada.Renewable energy sourcesThere are various sources of renewable energy used globally, including bioenergy, solar energy, hydropower, and wind energy, to name a few. Globally, China and Brazil are the top two countries in terms of generating the most energy through hydropower. Regarding solar power, China, the United States, and Japan boast the highest installed capacities worldwide.

Over the past half a century, the world's electricity consumption has continuously grown, reaching approximately 27,000 terawatt-hours by 2023. Between 1980 and 2023, electricity consumption more than tripled, while the global population reached eight billion people. Growth in industrialization and electricity access across the globe has further boosted electricity demand. China's economic rise and growth in global power use Since 2000, China's GDP has recorded an astonishing 15-fold increase, turning it into the second-largest global economy, behind only the United States. To fuel the development of its billion-strong population and various manufacturing industries, China requires more energy than any other country. As a result, it has become the largest electricity consumer in the world. Electricity consumption per capita In terms of per capita electricity consumption, China and other BRIC countries are still vastly outpaced by developed economies with smaller population sizes. Iceland, with a population of less than half a million inhabitants, consumes by far the most electricity per person in the world. Norway, Qatar, Canada, and the United States also have among the highest consumption rates. Multiple contributing factors, such as the existence of power-intensive industries, household sizes, living situations, appliance and efficiency standards, and access to alternative heating fuels, determine the amount of electricity the average person requires in each country.

Global electricity generation has increased significantly over the past three decades, rising from less than 12,000 terawatt-hours in 1990 to over 30,000 terawatt-hours in 2024. During this period, electricity generation worldwide only registered an annual decline twice: in 2009, following the global financial crisis, and in 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sources of electricity generation The share of global electricity generated from clean energy sources –including renewables and nuclear power- amounted to almost 40 percent in 2024, up from approximately 32 percent at the beginning of the decade. Despite this growth, fossil fuels are still the main source of electricity generation worldwide. In 2024, almost 60 percent of the electricity was produced by coal and natural gas-fired plants. Regional differences Water, wind, and sun contribute to making Latin America and the Caribbean the region with the largest share of renewable electricity generated in the world. By comparison, several European countries rely on nuclear energy. However, the main electricity sources in the United States and China, the leading economic powers of the world, are respectively natural gas and coal.

As of 2024, China was the largest producer of electricity globally by a significant margin with over ***petawatt-hours generated, followed by the United States with *** petawatt-hours. Both countries generated a considerable amount more than the next highest producer, India, where almost *** petawatt-hours were produced. Coal and natural gas remain the primary sources of energy worldwide, maintaining a high global reliance on fossil-based fuels. For instance, natural gas was the largest source of electricity generation in the U.S. in 2023, followed by renewables.

Global expansion of electricity networks Energy networks have been undergoing expansion and modernization to tackle challenges such as the climate crisis and a growing global population through electrification. As a result of this, there has been significant growth in electricity access, with almost *** million more people gaining access to energy networks worldwide in 2022, of which ** million were in Central and Southern Asia. With increased electricity access, a growth in electricity production will become necessary.

Transitioning towards renewables Use of both coal and renewable electricity has grown worldwide, particularly in the European Union and China, where the largest year-on-year change in coal and renewable generation was recorded in 2023. As part of its increase in power generation, China has the largest share of clean electricity capacity installed by country worldwide, amounting to approximately **** terawatts.

France has the greatest share of nuclear power in total electricity generation worldwide. In 2024, nuclear energy accounted for over 67 percent of the European country's total electricity production. By comparison, the share of nuclear electricity generation in the United States stood at less than 20 percent. Nuclear power production in France Nuclear power is essential to France’s energy plan, as it meets a significant amount of the country’s electrical needs. In January 2025, the monthly nuclear power production in the country reached 38.6 terawatt-hours. France has a sizable fleet of reactors, which helps to maintain a steady supply of electricity while reducing its carbon footprint. Global nuclear landscape The United States holds the highest nuclear power capacity globally, with approximately 97 gigawatts electric across its 94 reactors as of August 2025. France came in second with over 63 gigawatts electric. 61 nuclear reactors are under construction worldwide, with China leading with 28 units and India following with six. Additionally, the global nuclear landscape saw the permanent shutdown of four reactors in 2024, highlighting ongoing shifts in energy production and policy.

China has the highest installed capacity of coal power plants in the world. As of July 2025, it operated coal plants with a combined capacity of 1,193.8 gigawatts. This was more than five times the operational capacity of coal plants in the United States, which ranked third. China's carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion surpassed 8.5 billion metric tons in 2023 - roughly 70 percent of the country's total emissions. Coal power plant pipeline While coal use has come under harsh scrutiny over its highly polluting nature, the industry has continued investing in new coal-fired generation plants. The global installed coal power generation capacity is projected to remain at around 2.3 terawatts over the coming decades. Worldwide, about 227 gigawatts of new coal capacity was under construction in 2024, with a further 276 gigawatts in various stages of planning. Despite commitments to the contrary, the capacity of the coal plant pipeline has increased over the last few years. Announced coal power plants are primarily located in Asia.

China has the greatest number of coal-fired power stations of any country or territory in the world. As of July 2025, there were 1,195 operational coal power plants on the Chinese Mainland. This was more than four times the number of such power stations in India, which ranked second. China accounts for over 50 percent of total global coal electricity generation. Coal phase-out worldwide Coal power plants present various health and environmental threats. Besides demanding large quantities of raw material to be burned, this energy source pollutes water and has high greenhouse gas emissions. Due to these reasons and to tackle the climate crisis, 40 countries committed to phase out their coal power plants at the COP26 summit in 2021. However, the three leading economies with the greatest number of operational coal-fired plants that year did not agree to the terms. In 2024, the global capacity of coal power plants in construction stood at 227.5 gigawatts with an additional 111.5 gigawatts announced. Carbon dioxide emissions China has been the largest coal polluter worldwide since 1990. In 2023, figures reached a record high of 8.55 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. That year, India had the second largest carbon dioxide emissions from coal use, followed by the United States. The U.S. was either the largest or second-largest polluter for 55 years, before being overtaken by India.

In 2023, China was the leading country in terms of hydroelectricity generation worldwide with approximately ******** terawatt hours generated from hydro sources. In comparison, Russia's hydropower facilities generated some ****** terawatt hours of energy that year. Hydropower capacity Brazil and Canada led the world in hydropower generation in 2023 after China, totaling ****** terawatt hours and ****** terawatt hours, respectively. In 2023, about 28 percent of the total hydropower energy consumption worldwide occurred in China. Over three-quarters of the country’s electric power supply relies on hydroelectric power. In 2022, China added ** gigawatts of hydropower capacity. Hydroelectricity in Brazil Much of Brazil’s hydropower potential arises from the northern Amazon River basin. However, the majority of the country’s population lives along the eastern coast as well as the southern parts of the River. The distance and separation of the majority of the country’s hydroelectric resources and its demand has caused some reliability issues. For example, the 2014 drought led to many blackouts in various regions across the nation. A Belo Monte dam along the Xingu River was completed in 2019 and will be the second-largest hydroelectric dam in Brazil. Currently, the Itaipu Dam, located between Brazil and Paraguay along the Paraná River, is the second-largest dam in the world and has a generating capacity of ****** megawatts. However, the construction of large new hydroelectric power plants can create environmental impacts that alter important ecosystems, such as altering the primary flow of water systems.

In 2020, the Spanish-based Acciona was the leading electric utility based on renewable capacity worldwide. About ** percent of Acciona’s total capacity was derived from renewable sources in 2020. That year, it operated about *** gigawatts of renewable capacity, including wind, hydro, solar, and biomass.

Renewable energy capacity

Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure conglomerate, was originally a construction and engineering company but began to invest in renewable energies about 20 years ago. Companies with the lowest share of renewable capacity tend to be located in fossil fuel producing countries such as South Africa, Poland, the United States, and Indonesia. Globally, the share of renewable sources in energy consumption is increasing. In 2018, renewable energy accounted for **** percent of the primary energy consumption worldwide. Renewable energy technologies accounted for almost ** percent of the new capacities added in 2014.

Largest Chinese electrical utility

China General Nuclear (CGN), a Chinese electric utility, had one of the largest renewable capacities in the world in 2020, totaling ** gigawatts. Utilities in China held a few of the top ten spots in terms of global renewable capacity during this year, largely due to their expansive hydropower usage and its rapidly growing solar market. Many of the country’s largest energy utilities have also increased their investment into wind energies, despite some connection problems. China’s electricity consumption has increased in recent years, reaching a total of ***** terawatt hours in 2020.

The global battery storage power capacity is set for remarkable growth, with projections indicating a surge from 52 gigawatts in 2022 to an impressive 945 gigawatts by 2050. This exponential increase reflects the rising importance of energy storage in the transition to cleaner and more sustainable power systems worldwide. As countries and industries seek to balance intermittent renewable energy sources, battery storage emerges as a critical component in ensuring grid stability and reliability. Battery manufacturing landscape China dominated the battery manufacturing sector in 2023, accounting for over 80 percent of the global battery manufacturing capacity. This trend is expected to continue, with China's battery manufacturing capacity projected to grow significantly by 2030, solidifying its position as the uncontested world leader in energy storage. Europe and the United States are also significant players in the battery storage sector. Germany, in particular, stands out as the largest market in Europe and the second-largest market in the world in 2023. However, the U.S. is expected to double up on Germany by 2027. Battery industry leaders In terms of industry leaders, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and BYD are among the largest companies in the battery sector by revenue, together with Japan’s Hitachi and Panasonic. CATL and BYD were also the leading electric vehicles’ battery manufacturers in the world, CATL alone accounting for 34 percent of global EV battery production capacity in 2023.