Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, according to a new analysis.
Plus, for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal.
Global solar generation grew by a record 31 per cent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew by 7.7 per cent, the report by the energy think tank Ember found.
Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the overall global demand increase in the same period, it found.
Renewables can keep pace with growing appetite for electricity
The findings suggest it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power – even as demand for electricity skyrockets – with continued investment in renewables, including solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy and geothermal energies.
“That means that they can keep up the pace with growing appetite for electricity worldwide,” said Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, senior electricity analyst at Ember and lead author of the study.
At the same time, total fossil fuel generation dropped slightly, by less than 1 per cent.
“The fall overall of fossil may be small, but it is significant,” said Wiatros-Motyka. “This is a turning point when we see emissions plateauing.”
The firm analyses monthly data from 88 countries representing the vast majority of electricity demand around the world.
Reasons that demand is increasing include economic growth, electric vehicles and data centres, rising populations in developing countries and the need for more cooling as temperatures rise.
Meeting that demand by burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas for electricity releases planet-warming gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. This leads to more severe, costly and deadly extreme weather.
EU lags behind in renewable energy generation
Ember also dedicated part of its report to an analysis of China, India, the European Union and the US. Combined, they account for nearly two-thirds of electricity generation and carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector globally.
In the first six months of the year, China added more solar and wind than the rest of the world combined, and its fossil fuel generation fell by 2 per cent, the report said.
India saw record solar and wind growth that outpaced the growth in demand. India’s fossil fuel generation also dropped.
In both nations, emissions fell.
“It’s often been said by analysts that renewable energy doesn’t really lead to a reduction in fossil fuel use,” said Michael Gerrard, founder and director of the Columbia University Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law, who was not involved in the report. “This report highlights an encouraging step in the opposite direction.”
But in the US, demand growth outpaced the growth of clean power generation. In the EU, sluggish wind and hydropower generation contributed to higher coal and gas generation, the report said. In both markets, fossil fuel generation and emissions increased.
Challenges face renewables in the US
The US clean energy market faces challenges as President Donald Trump’s administration shifts federal policy away from renewables and toward boosting coal, oil and gas production.
The administration has terminated Biden-era funding that supported clean energy projects, repealed policy underpinning climate-related regulation and halted wind energy developments.
Meanwhile, the administration has lifted barriers to coal mining, granted two years of regulatory relief to coal-fired power plants and other polluting industries and dedicated millions of dollars to these coal plants.
Renewables “still have an opportunity to make inroads into displacing fossil fuels, even with some demand growth,” said Amanda Smith, senior scientist at research organisation Project Drawdown, who also wasn’t involved in the report.
But, she added: “I am very cautiously optimistic that renewables can continue to grow and continue to displace fossil fuels in the US. I am more optimistic on the world scale.”