Summary
- Wind and solar energy saw record growth in 2022, resulting in the cleanest-ever worldwide electricity generation.
- 12% of the world's power came from solar and wind, according to the Ember report.
- While wind and solar are making progress, there's a need to accelerate the deployment of clean energy to meet rising electricity demands and achieve net-zero targets.
I have some great news for all you clean energy enthusiasts out there! According to a report by independent climate think tank Ember, we have reached a new milestone in the battle against climate change. Last year, record growth in wind and solar energy pushed worldwide electricity generation to its cleanest-ever level. Can you believe that?! This means that we are finally making some real progress towards a more sustainable future.
The report found that solar power was the fastest-growing source of electricity for the 18th year in a row, rising by 24% year-on-year. And, get this, it added enough power to meet the annual electricity demand of South Africa. That's a whole lot of power, folks! Wind energy also saw a significant increase, with a growth of 17% in 2022, enough to power almost all of the U.K.
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. Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, senior electricity analyst at Ember and lead author of the research, said,
"We are entering the clean power era."
Although we have made progress, there is still much more to be done. The dramatic build-out of wind and solar was still not fast enough to meet all of the world's increasing electricity needs. Coal and other fossil fuels still met the remaining gap, driving up emissions to a new record high. The report notes that we need to massively and urgently accelerate the deployment of wind and solar to meet the rising demand for electricity.
Analysts project a 0.3% dip in fossil fuel generation this year, with steeper falls expected in subsequent years, as wind and solar deployment accelerate. The report states that 2022 may come to mark the peak of electricity emissions and the final year of fossil power growth. Clean power is set to meet all demand growth in 2023, and we are hopeful that wind and solar will account for 41% of the global power mix by 2030.
In conclusion, we are making great strides towards a sustainable future, but much more needs to be done. We need to ensure that developing countries are not left behind and locked into high-carbon futures. So let's keep pushing for clean energy and continue to make progress towards a more sustainable world.
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