Global consumption of renewable energy has increased significantly over the last two decades. Consumption levels nearly reached ***** exajoules in 2024. This upward trend reflects the increasing adoption of clean energy technologies worldwide. However, despite its rapid growth, renewable energy consumption still remains far below that of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels still dominate energy landscape While renewable energy use has expanded, fossil fuels continue to dominate the global energy mix. Coal consumption reached *** exajoules in 2023, marking its highest level to date. Oil consumption also hit a record high in 2024, exceeding *** billion metric tons for the first time. Natural gas consumption has remained relatively stable in recent years, hovering around **** trillion cubic meters annually. These figures underscore the ongoing challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon energy system. Renewable energy investments The clean energy sector has experienced consistent growth over the past decade, with investments more than doubling from *** billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. China has emerged as the frontrunner in renewable energy investment, contributing *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. This substantial funding has helped propel the renewable energy industry forward.

In 2024, renewable energy consumption in China reached *****exajoules, more than any other country in the world. Renewable sources such as geothermal, wind, solar, biomass, and waste were included in this measurement, while cross-border electricity trade was not taken into account. Hydropower in China China is by far the leading consumer of hydropower, with over ***** times the consumption of other leading countries such as Canada and Brazil. Several of the world’s hydroelectric dams with the highest generating capacity are located in China, many of which were constructed in the past two decades. The **************** on the Yangtze River was completed in 2012 to become the largest in the world. Energy consumption in the United States After China, the United States was the second-highest consumer of renewable energy in the world. Both countries also consumed the most primary energy overall. The United States strives to achieve energy independence in order to reduce imports of foreign energy sources. As renewable energy gains momentum in a fossil-fuel dominated industry, renewable production in the United States has slightly exceeded the country’s consumption in recent years, and additionally, have both more than doubled since 1975.

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 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.

In 2024, China’s consumption of renewable energy was the highest in the world, accounting for *****percent of global renewable consumption. Likewise, this country had the highest supply of primary energy from both renewable and non-renewable sources. Primary energy refers to energy that is derived directly from natural sources. The United States had the second highest share of global renewables consumption that year. Alternatives to fossil fuels in China Despite China accounting for such a large portion of global renewable consumption, the use of renewables is a relatively recent development for the country and still far less common than other traditional sources of primary energy. However, consumption of renewables has been higher than other alternatives to fossil fuels such as nuclear power. Both renewables and nuclear energy have seen significant increases in consumption in the last few years. The renewables market in Germany For a country of its size, with a fraction of the population and energy demands of China and the United States, Germany has seen a strong trend in increased renewable energy consumption. Germany has been a forerunner in the industry, with wind power coming into an increasingly important role. Total installed wind power capacity in Germany has almost tripled since 2008 and continues to rise consistently over recent years.

Germany led Europe in renewable energy consumption, with *****exajoules consumed in 2024, up from *****exajoules in 2015. *******and *******************followed as the second and third-largest consumers, highlighting a broader trend of increased renewable energy use across the continent. Renewable energy production and capacity Germany's dominance in renewable energy consumption is mirrored in its production and capacity figures. In 2023, Germany's renewable energy production amounted to approximately *** terawatt-hours, far surpassing other European nations. The country also boasted the largest installed renewable energy capacity in Europe, with almost ****gigawatts as of 2024. This substantial capacity allows Germany to meet its high renewable energy consumption needs and contributes to its leadership in the sector. European renewable energy landscape The broader European renewable energy landscape shows a promising growth. Total renewable energy consumption in Europe reached about ** exajoules in 2023, marking a nine percent increase from the previous year. Wind power has emerged as the primary renewable source in the European Union's electricity mix since 2017, accounting for over ** percent of the EU's renewable mix in 2023.

In 2023, renewable energy production worldwide amounted to nearly *** petawatt hours. Global renewable energy production increased over the years. Between 2009 and 2023, figures rose by approximately **** petawatt hours.

In 2024, the Asia Pacific region consumed roughly ***** exajoules of renewable energy, more than any other region in the world. Europe followed with a renewable energy consumption of some *****exajoules.

China dominated the renewable energy consumption globally and in the Asia-Pacific region, with the country consuming **** exajoules in 2024. This level far surpasses that of other major economies in the region, including India and Japan, which consumed **** and **** exajoules, respectively. Leading renewable energy markets China, India, Japan, and Vietnam are among the leading renewable energy markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with increasing investments in the development of renewable energy. Moreover, Australia has focused particularly on the development of solar and wind energy, with around ** percent of its electricity coming from solar power and about ** percent of its power generation coming from wind. Australia has the largest share of wind and solar power in the electricity mix among APAC countries. China has continued to see the largest investments globally in energy transition, while India is also attracting significant investments. Southeast Asian markets have emerged as potential renewable energy markets, with Vietnam making the most progress in capacity expansion. However, these emerging markets face persistent energy infrastructure, policy, and financing challenges that must be addressed in order to speed up the transition to clean energy. The dual challenge: rising energy demand and carbon emissions in Asia-Pacific Despite these advances in renewable energy, APAC is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels to meet its rapidly growing energy demand from expanding cities and industries. Coal still accounts for over half of APAC’s power generation, with China consuming the largest share. Unsurprisingly, the region remains the world’s largest energy-related carbon dioxide emitter. China, in particular, is the leading source of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. In 2023, the country emitted nearly **** billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, exceeding the combined emissions of the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. This situation underscores the complex challenge facing rapidly developing economies: how to sustain economic growth, meet rising energy needs, and improve living standards while curbing carbon emissions and ensuring a just and inclusive energy transition.

Nearly **** of the leading ten technology companies worldwide, based on market capitalization, are powered by ****percent renewable energy sources. These companies include the American Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and, by *** percentage point, nearly Intel.

Global primary energy consumption has increased dramatically in recent years and is projected to continue to increase until 2045. Only hydropower and renewable energy consumption are expected to increase between 2045 and 2050 and reach 30 percent of the global energy consumption. Energy consumption by country The distribution of energy consumption globally is disproportionately high among some countries. China, the United States, and India were by far the largest consumers of primary energy globally. On a per capita basis, it was Qatar, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Iceland to have the highest per capita energy consumption. Renewable energy consumption Over the last two decades, renewable energy consumption has increased to reach over 90 exajoules in 2023. Among all countries globally, China had the largest installed renewable energy capacity as of that year, followed by the United States.

The demand of renewable energy from the global electricity sector is projected to reach almost ** exajoules in 2030, with solar energy accounting for some ** percent of the total. This would mark a renewable energy demand growth of over ** exajoules compared to 2023, while the demand growth for heat production will surpass ** exajoules.

The renewable energy sector is expected to increase massively before the end of the decade. In 2021, European countries accounted for the largest share of energy produced from renewables worldwide. Europe is projected to maintain this top-ranking position in the next few years, with an expected ** percent of energy production coming from renewable sources by 2027. The most substantial growth in renewable energy production between 2021 and 2027 is however forecast to occur in the Middle East and Africa, with a three-fold increase from **** percent to ** percent. Renewable energy investments in the United States With the Biden Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in 2021, the United States allocated ** billion U.S. dollars for upgrading the power infrastructure and ** billion U.S. dollars for smart buildings. The clean energy investments in the U.S. will finance the transmission network of the growing renewable energy sector, the development of green technologies, and the optimization of energy consumption to save energy. South America's renewable energy outlook South America's share of energy production from renewable sources is projected to ****** between 2021 and 2027. The Argentinian energy sector, for example, has attracted Chinese and European investments and the renewable energy capacity of this country has experienced a steady growth since 2016. In Mexico, the capacity additions planned by the Program for the Development of the Electricity System 2022-2036 were predominately in the renewable energy sector.

Asia accounted for the highest share of renewable electricity generation worldwide in 2023, with about 4** petawatt hours of electricity generated. Europe ranked second, with renewable sources accounting for roughly *** petawatt hours of power output.

Global renewable energy consumption peaked at ** petawatt-hours in 2023. Biomass accounted for approximately ** percent of the total renewable energy consumed that year. In 2023, oil and coal were the main fuels used for primary energy worldwide.

China is the largest consumer of primary energy in the world, having used some 176.35 exajoules in 2024. This is a lot more than what the United States consumed, which comes in second place. The majority of primary energy fuels worldwide are still derived from fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. China's energy mix China’s primary energy mix has shifted from a dominant use of coal to an increase in natural gas and renewable sources. Since 2013, the renewables share in total energy consumption has grown by around eight percentage points. Overall, global primary energy consumption has increased over the last decade, and it is expected to experience the largest growth in emerging economies like the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China. What is primary energy? Primary energy is the energy inherent in natural resources such as crude oil, coal, and wind before further transformation. For example, crude oil can be refined into secondary fuels, such as gasoline or diesel, while wind is harnessed for electricity - itself a secondary energy source. A country’s total primary energy supply is a measure of the country’s primary energy sources. Meanwhile, end use energy is the energy directly consumed by the user and includes primary fuels such as natural gas, as well as secondary sources, like electricity and gasoline.

The renewable energy market is projected to reach **** trillion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2025. The growth in the renewable energy market has seen the propensity for non-renewable energy sources, such as coal, subsiding and the demand for renewable sources rising as long-term cost-effectiveness becomes increasingly feasible. Renewable sources like wind and solar have reached price parity along the electricity grid and are getting ever closer to reaching the performance potential of conventional sources. Increased use of technological advancements like automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain will also increase renewable capacity deployment by decreasing costs and easing the integration of new energy infrastructure. Clean energy investment Clean energy investment has also generally risen in the past decade. Lower investment figures during this time are usually due to the reduction in project development costs. Investors focusing on long-term investments over short-term will also drive these investment trends. It is estimated that clean energy investment must accelerate to a faster pace in order to reduce emissions to levels recommended by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The overall share of renewables in the European Union's final energy consumption reached **** percent in 2023. Sweden was the country with the largest share of renewables with over ** percent of energy consumption covered by renewables that year. According to the 2030 renewable energy targets of the region, EU member states must reach a renewable consumption share of at least **** percent by 2030.

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 generation 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 over 90 percent of new electricity capacity in 2024. 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.

Global renewable energy consumption is projected to increase continuously over the next decades, reaching 137 quadrillion British thermal units by 2030. Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions are forecast to account for the largest renewable energy consumption growth between 2022 and 2050.