Fossil fuels remain the greatest source of electricity generation worldwide. In 2023, coal accounted for roughly **** percent of the global power mix, while natural gas followed with a ** percent share. China, India, and the United States accounted for the largest share of coal used for electricity generation. The future of renewable energy Fossil fuel use notwithstanding, the share of renewables in global electricity has seen a more pronounced year-on-year growth in recent years, following increased efforts by governments to combat global warming and a decrease in levelized costs. Projections indicate that renewables will surpass fossil fuels as the main power source by 2040. Electricity consumption in the world China is the largest electricity consumer in the world, requiring more than ***** terawatt-hours of electricity every year. However, this economic power accounts for the largest population in the world and its electricity consumption per capita is almost tenfold smaller than the consumption of Iceland, although the power used in this country came almost completely from clean sources.

Global electricity generation has increased significantly over the past three decades, rising from less than 12,000 terawatt-hours in 1990 to almost 30,000 terawatt-hours in 2023. 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 2023, 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 2023, 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.

Coal has been the main source of electricity generation worldwide for the last three decades. In 2023, global coal power generation stood at almost 10,500 terawatt-hours. Overall, coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels accounted for approximately 60 percent of the global electricity production that year. Renewable energy sources of electricity generation The production of renewable energy has been increasing steadily over the past decades, with solar and wind energy showing the largest year-over-year growth between 2022 and 2023. However, the contribution of renewables to the world’s electric power mix remains small when compared to fossil fuel sources. Electricity demand vs production The volume of electricity generated worldwide surpassed the global consumption of electricity by a small margin. This figure is directly affected by the fact that the number of people without access to electricity in the world has shrunk over the past decade and is continuously decreasing.

The global volume of electricity produced from nuclear sources amounted to over 2,552 terawatt-hours in 2023, up from 2,487 terawatt-hours in 2022. The nuclear energy generation worldwide peaked at 2,657 terawatt-hours in 2019, after increasing continuously since 2012. The United States accounted for over 30 percent of the global nuclear energy production in 2023.

In recent years, scrutiny over the environmental impact of more traditional energy sources has translated into a rapid growth of renewables. The share of energy from renewable sources used in electricity generation worldwide has been rising annually, reaching roughly **** percent in 2024. Increasing capacity and production As renewable shares continue to grow, so does the installed capacity. Since 2010 the cumulative renewable energy capacity has risen from *** terawatts to *** terawatts in 2024. Renewable electricity production has also increased significantly, rising to *** petawatt hours in 2022. Despite this impressive and steady growth, the consumption of renewable energy still pales in comparison when compared to fossil fuel energy consumption. Consumption on the rise In the past two decades, global consumption of renewables has risen from just ** exajoules in 2000, to over ** exajoules in 2023. Globally, both China and the United States are the leading consumers of renewable energy, with a combined consumption of ** exajoules.

The fossil fuel share in worldwide electricity production amounted to **** percent in 2023. This was a decrease compared to the previous year, with figures having ranged between ** and ** percent in the past 22 years. Fossil fuels remain the main contributor to the energy mix, with coal power generation share standing at ** percent.

Hard coal is the most produced non-renewable energy source. In 2023, hard coal accounted for a ***** percent share of worldwide non-renewable energy production. This was closely followed by crude oil, which made up a ***** percent share. Before 2023, crude oil was the most produced non-renewable energy source.

In 2023, global power generation increased by **** percent compared to the previous year. Electricity generation from wind and solar saw the largest year-on-year increases at more than ** percent, of which solar alone accounted for ** percent.

As of 2023, 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.

Natural gas accounted for 22.5 percent of total electricity generation worldwide in 2023. This was a decrease of around one percent when compared with the previous year. As overall power demand increased, so did actual global gas power generation, which reached 6,635 terawatt-hours in 2023.

The share of global electricity produced from biomass energy was 2.32 percent in 2023. This figure increased steadily over the past two decades, when it was less than one percent. Bioenergy is considered a renewable source of energy and can be used to generate electricity, as well as heat and transportation fuels.

In 2023, the most common fuel used in the global fusion industry was the one composed of the two hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium (DT), which fuse at low temperatures creating a helium nucleus and releasing a neutron. The use of proton-boron fusion fuel ranked second among companies in the nuclear fusion industry, although it fuses at higher temperatures than the DT fuel.That year, the number of companies active in the fusion power sector amounted to approximately 46.

In 2023, Luxembourg was the leading country in solar energy penetration, with solar power accounting for almost ** percent of the country's electricity mix that year. Malta followed with a share of solar of more than ** percent. On average, the share of electricity generation from solar energy worldwide was roughly *** percent in 2023. In comparison with the previous year, figures increased by almost *** percentage point. Solar energy generation worldwide In total, solar energy production reached *** petawatt hours in 2022, increasing by some ** percent when compared to the previous year. Solar energy production was the highest in China, which generated over *** terawatt hours of solar power in 2023. The United States was the country with the second-highest solar energy production that year, with some *** terawatt hours generated. China’s solar photovoltaic industry Aside for being the largest solar energy producer worldwide, China accounts for the largest production of solar energy components. In 2022, the country was responsible for almost ** percent of the world's solar photovoltaic module production. Most of the largest solar component manufacturers worldwide are based in China. For instance, photovoltaic company LONGi was the leading solar ingot and wafer manufacturer worldwide, reaching a production output of *** gigawatts in 2023.

Around 17,903 terawatt hours of electricity worldwide were generated using fossil fuels in 2023. This was an increase compared to the previous year and the highest figure in the period of consideration. This was in spite of a decrease in the overall global fossil fuel share in power generation, which amounted to less than 61 percent in 2023.

Asia produced more emissions from electricity generation than any other region in 2023, at 8.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e). China alone accounted for roughly 61 percent of the region's power sector emissions that year. Asia's power sector emissions have more than tripled since 2000, owing to the fast growing economies in the region and growing energy demand. By comparison, power sector emissions in North America have fallen by more than 25 percent during this same period and are now roughly five times lower than in Asia.

China continues to dominate the global solar power landscape, producing a staggering ***** terawatt hours of solar energy in 2024. The United States ranked second that year by a wide margin, with less than half of China's production. India and Japan round out the top four, highlighting the significant role Asian countries play in the solar energy sector. Global solar capacity growth The impressive production figures reflect the rapid expansion of solar photovoltaic capacity worldwide. In 2024, global cumulative solar PV capacity reached *** terawatts, with approximately *** gigawatts of new capacity added that year alone. This growth is particularly pronounced in Asia, where an estimated **** terawatts of new solar PV systems were installed, far outpacing other regions such as Europe and North America, which installed a total capacity of *** and *** gigawatts of solar during 2024, respectively. Economic factors driving solar adoption The surge in solar power production is largely attributed to falling costs and increased investment in the sector. In 2023, the cost of utility-scale solar photovoltaics decreased globally, with countries such as China seeing prices around *** U.S. dollars per kilowatt installed. This declining cost trend has made solar energy increasingly competitive and attractive to investors, outpacing investments in other renewable energy sectors.

China accounts for around **** percent of total coal electricity generation in the world. China is by far the leading country in terms of coal-fired power generation, at over ***** terawatt hours produced every year. The ten largest coal power producers together generate around*** percent of the worldwide total.

China produced a total of 127 quadrillion British thermal units of energy in 2023, which made it the biggest energy producing country in the world. This was followed by the United States, with total energy production amounting to 103 quadrillion British thermal units during the same year.

Wind energy sources accounted for nearly ***** percent of electricity generation worldwide in 2023, up from a *** percent share a year earlier. This was over double the share compared to 2015 values, the year Paris Agreement was adopted.

The share of nuclear power in global electricity generation stood at *** percent in 2023. In a scenario in which countries pursue policies of nuclear power expansion, the share of nuclear power in the global power mix is forecast to surpass **** percent by 2040. On the contrary, in a scenario where no policies for the expansion of nuclear power are implemented, the nuclear share of electricity generation would decrease by around ** percent between 2023 and 2050.