You can explore the electricity mix – broken down by individual source – for countries in our work here. Some countries get over 90% of their electricity from nuclear or renewables – Sweden, Norway, France, Paraguay, Iceland, and Nepal, among others. In the interactive map shown we see this share across the world.
But some countries get much more – some nearly all of it – from fossil-free sources. Globally we get just over one-third of our electricity from low-carbon sources. In the following section we will see that progress was slow because nuclear output declined at a time when renewables have been growing. In fact, throughout the early-2000s this share actually regressed. The share in the total energy mix is much smaller.ĭisappointingly, the percentage of electricity that comes from low-carbon sources today is almost unchanged from the mid-1980s. When people quote a high number for the share of low-carbon energy in the electricity mix we need to be aware of the fact that electricity is only part of the energy equation. We looked at the comparison of the global energy and electricity mix here. This is more than double the share in the total energy mix, where nuclear and renewables only account for 15.7%. The remaining two-thirds come from fossil fuels – mostly coal and gas. Globally, 36.7% of our electricity was low-carbon in 2019. In the chart we see the percentage of global electricity production that comes from nuclear or renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydropower, wind and tidal and some biomass. In the late 1980s, coal account for more than 60% of electricity production. Take the UK as an example: there we see a dramatic decline in the role of coal in its electricity mix. If we look at the electricity mix of particular countries we can see dramatic changes in over time. Of the low-carbon sources, hydropower and nuclear make the largest contribution although wind and solar are growing quickly. Globally we see that coal, followed by gas, is the largest source of electricity production. The line chart shows each source’s share of the total, and gives a better perspective on how each is changing over time. It allows you see how these sources sum up. The stacked area chart shows electricity production in absolute terms. In the interactive charts shown here we see the breakdown of the electricity mix by source. What sources make up our electricity mix? How much comes from coal, oil, gas, and how much from nuclear, hydropower, solar or wind? If we don’t, we risk falling into a false sense of progress and let leaders, governments and companies boast targets that are not nearly ambitious enough. If we are to reap the climate benefits of electric vehicles, this electricity needs to be as low-carbon as possible.īut when we see headlines on progress in decarbonizing the electricity sector we need to remember that it is just one part of the energy story. The International Energy Agency, for example, projects that by 2030, global electricity demand for electric vehicles will increase five- to eleven-fold from levels in 2019. Many solutions rely on us electrifying other parts of the energy system – such as shifting to electric vehicles. The fact that transport and heating are harder to decarbonize, clean electricity will become ever-more important. This is because the other elements of the energy demand – transport and heating – rely much more heavily on fossil fuels.īut there is another aspect to consider. But they account for less than half that figure (15.7%) of the global energy mix. Nuclear and renewables account for more than one-third (36.7%) of global electricity. We see a large difference between the share that comes from low-carbon sources.
Let’s compare the breakdown of the global energy and electricity mix – these are shown in the chart. Many countries are making progress on clean electricity, but progress on energy as a whole is much slower. When we see headlines about our progress on decarbonization, the quoted figures often refer to electricity. The other two components being transport and heating. 1 The Independent made the mistake of using the terms electricity and energy interchangeably, when they are actually not the same thing.Įlectricity (or ‘power’) is just one component of total energy consumption. Unfortunately, many of these headlines are misleading.
→ More UK energy is coming from clean sources than fossil fuels for the first time ever, National Grid announces (Independent, 2020)Īt first glance, we might think that we are edging close to a fossil-free energy system. This is, of course, good news as we try to shift our energy systems away from fossil fuels. Solar and wind generation are growing quickly across the world.
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