Wind and solar superpowers' usher in new era of clean electricity generation

Record growth in wind and solar generation drove the emissions intensity of the world’s electricity to its lowest-ever level in 2022.

This is the key finding in the latest report from think tank Ember, Global Electricity Review 2023, which shows that these renewable resources are pushing the world into a new era of falling power sector emissions.

Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, a senior electricity analyst at Ember, said in a statement: "In this decisive decade for the climate, it is the beginning of the end of the fossil age.

"The stage is set for wind and solar to achieve a meteoric rise to the top. Clean electricity will reshape the global economy, from transport to industry and beyond."

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According to the report, 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 power, which reached a 12% share in the global electricity mix, up from 10% in 2021.

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.

Global Electricity Review 2023 showed that growth alone in wind and solar generation (+557 TWh) met 80% of global electricity demand growth in 2022 (+694 TWh).

With average growth in electricity demand and clean power, Ember forecasts 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.

Ember suggests that a new era of falling power sector emissions is very close, thanks to the electricity superpowers of wind and solar, although high growth rates will need to be maintained this decade, even as the technologies mature.

More growth is needed from all other clean electricity sources as well, while more attention to efficiency is needed to avoid runaway growth in electricity demand.

Also, the report recommends urgent work on ensuring wind and solar can be integrated into the grid through planning permissions, grid connections, grid flexibility and market design.