Who Are the Biggest Generators and Consumers of Renewable Energy?

The country that generated the most renewable energy last year was China, according to the Energy Institute’s (EI) 2024 statistical review of world energy, which was released recently.

China’s renewable energy generation came in at 2,894.1 terawatt hours (TH) in 2023, comprising 885.9 TH from wind energy, 584.2 TH from solar energy, 1,226.0 TH from hydro energy, and 198.1 TH from other renewable energy sources, the review outlined. China’s renewable energy generation has grown 8.4 percent year on year, the review revealed.

The U.S. generated the second most renewable energy in 2023, according to the review, which showed that the country had 973.7 TH of renewable energy generation last year, comprising 429.5 TH from wind, 240.5 TH from solar, 236.3 TH from hydro, and 67.3 TH from other renewable sources. U.S. renewable energy generation has grown 0.5 percent year on year, the review pointed out.

Brazil ranked third in terms of renewable energy generation last year, the review showed. The country’s renewable energy generation hit 631.5 TH in 2023, comprising 95.5 TH from wind, 51.5 TH from solar, 428.7 TH from hydro, and 55.8 TH from other renewable sources, the review outlined. Brazil’s renewable energy generation has grown 6.3 percent year on year, EI’s review highlighted.

Global renewable energy generation totaled 8,988.4 TH in 2023, which was 5.4 percent up on 2022, the review outlined.

EI’s renewable energy generation figures are based on gross generation and do not account for cross-border electricity supply. They include electricity generated from geothermal, biomass, and other sources of renewable energy not already mentioned.

Renewable Energy Consumption

In addition to being the biggest renewable energy generator in 2023, China was the largest renewable power primary energy input consumer, the EI review revealed.

The country’s consumption level came in at 27.49 exajoules, input equivalent, which marked an 8.0 percent year on year increase and 32.2 percent of the global total in 2023, the review showed. From 2013 to 2023, China’s consumption has grown by a yearly average rate of 9.8 percent.

The U.S. was the second biggest consumer, with 9.21 exajoules of renewable power primary energy input demand, according to the review, which outlined that this was a 0.1 percent year on year rise and 10.8 percent of total demand in 2023. From 2013 to 2023, U.S. consumption has grown by a yearly average rate of 5.6 percent, the review showed.

Brazil was the third largest consumer, with 6.02 exajoules, the review revealed. This figure was up 5.9 percent year on year and represented 7.0 percent of total demand in 2023, the review outlined. From 2013 to 2023, Brazil’s consumption has grown by a yearly average rate of 3.3 percent, according to the review.

Global renewable power primary energy input demand came in at 85.49 exajoules in 2023, which was 4.9 percent higher than in 2022, the review pointed out.

EI’s renewable power primary energy input demand figures are based on gross generation and do not account for cross-border electricity supply. Input equivalent energy is the amount of fuel that would be required by thermal power stations to generate the reported electricity output, the review stated.

Record Highs

In a release accompanying the publication of the review, the EI noted that renewable generation, excluding hydro, was up 13 percent to a record high of 4,748 TH.

“This growth was driven almost entirely by wind and solar, and accounted for 74 percent of all net additional electricity generated,” the EI said in the release.

“As a share of primary energy use, renewables (excluding hydro) were at eight percent, or 15 percent including hydro,” it added.

In the release, EI President Juliet Davenport said, “in this year’s statistical review, we report on another year of highs in our energy hungry world”.

“2023 saw record consumption of fossil fuels and record emissions from energy, but also record generation of renewables, driven by increasingly competitive wind and solar energy,” Davenport added.

Simon Virley, Vice Chair and Head of Energy and Natural Resources at KPMG in the UK, said in the release, “in a year where we have seen the contribution of renewables reaching a new record high, ever increasing global energy demand means the share coming from fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged at just over 80 percent for yet another year”.

“With CO2 emissions also reaching record levels, it’s time to redouble our efforts on reducing carbon emissions and providing finance and capacity to build more low carbon energy sources in the global south where demand is growing at a rapid pace,” he added.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com