Electricity Source Trends

This report by Ember analyzes global electricity source trends in 2022, detailing the growth of renewables like solar and wind, the continued dominance and record highs of coal, and the fluctuations in hydro, nuclear, gas, and bioenergy generation. It compares current trends against the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario to highlight the growth rates required to limit global warming to 1.5C.

• Solar power was the fastest growing electricity source for the 18th consecutive year, with global generation increasing by 24% (+245 TWh) from 1,039 TWh in 2021 to 1,284 TWh in 2022. Its share of the global electricity mix rose from 3.7% to 4.5% in that period. China and the US were the primary drivers, accounting for 37% and 17% of the global increase, respectively.
• Wind power saw the largest absolute increase of any electricity source in 2022, growing by 17% (+312 TWh) to reach 2,160 TWh, or 7.6% of the global mix. China's growth accounted for over half of this global increase (+168 TWh). Denmark maintained the highest percentage share of wind generation at 55%.
• Global coal power generation reached an all-time record high of 10,186 TWh in 2022, providing 36% of global electricity. Despite this record, coal's share of the global mix dropped by 0.5 percentage points (from 36.2% to 35.7%) due to the rapid growth of wind and solar. China remains the largest producer, generating 5,420 TWh of coal power.
• Hydro power produced 15% (4,311 TWh) of global electricity in 2022, rebounding after a fall in 2021. However, its global share fell by 0.1 percentage points due to strong demand growth. While Brazil and Viet Nam saw increases, the EU experienced a 66 TWh (-19%) drop in hydro generation caused by historic summer droughts.
• Nuclear electricity generation fell by 4.7% (-129 TWh) in 2022, dropping from 2,739 TWh to 2,611 TWh, and its global share fell to 9.2%. The largest declines were in France (-82 TWh) due to maintenance shutdowns and Germany (-33 TWh) due to its delayed nuclear phaseout.
• Fossil gas remained the second largest electricity source, producing 22% of global electricity (6,336 TWh) in 2022. Generation decreased marginally by 0.2% (-12 TWh). The US was the largest producer at 1,695 TWh, while Kuwait had the highest share of gas in its mix at 99.9%.
• Bioenergy generated 2.4% (672 TWh) of global electricity in 2022, with a slight production increase of 0.8% (+6 TWh). This was the lowest annual absolute increase since 2001. The UK saw the largest absolute fall in bioenergy production (-4.1 TWh).

APA

Ember (2023). Electricity Source Trends. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-source-trends-ger2023/

Chicago

Ember. Electricity Source Trends. 2023. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-source-trends-ger2023/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Electricity Source Trends |date=12 April 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-source-trends-ger2023/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2023electricity, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Electricity Source Trends}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-source-trends-ger2023/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }