The world's electricity systems are a stark map of our climate challenge, as fossil fuels stubbornly generate over 59% of our global power, yet the rapid rise of renewables to a record 44% share in Europe signals a critical and accelerating shift in our energy landscape.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, global electricity generation totaled 28,538 terawatt-hours (TWh), with fossil fuels accounting for 59.4% of the mix
- Coal-fired power plants generated 10,179 TWh worldwide in 2022, representing 36.4% of total electricity production
- Natural gas contributed 23.2% to global electricity generation in 2022, producing approximately 6,627 TWh
- Global electricity consumption reached 27,000 TWh in 2022, up 2.5% from 2021
- U.S. electricity consumption totaled 4,000 billion kWh in 2022
- China's electricity demand grew 3.6% to 8,600 TWh in 2023
- U.S. transmission lines span 240,000 miles at 230 kV and above in 2022
- Global high-voltage transmission lines total over 2.5 million km
- U.S. has 160,000 miles of high-voltage lines (>100 kV)
- Global installed solar PV capacity reached 1,050 GW in 2022
- Wind power capacity hit 899 GW globally end-2022, onshore 837 GW, offshore 62 GW
- Hydropower capacity totaled 1,296 GW worldwide in 2022
- U.S. electricity market revenue $400 billion in 2022
- Global electricity generation investment $800 billion in 2022
- U.S. average retail price 15.95 cents/kWh in 2023, up 6.3%
Fossil fuels still lead global electricity generation, but renewables are gaining significant ground.
Consumption
- Global electricity consumption reached 27,000 TWh in 2022, up 2.5% from 2021
- U.S. electricity consumption totaled 4,000 billion kWh in 2022
- China's electricity demand grew 3.6% to 8,600 TWh in 2023
- India's electricity consumption rose 8.5% to 1,504 TWh in FY2022-23
- EU electricity consumption fell 3.5% to 2,600 TWh in 2022 due to energy crisis
- Residential sector accounted for 27% of U.S. electricity use in 2022 at 1,500 billion kWh
- Commercial sector consumed 35% of U.S. electricity in 2022, 1,480 billion kWh
- Industrial sector used 26% of U.S. electricity, 1,100 billion kWh in 2022
- Japan's electricity consumption was 930 TWh in 2022, down 1% YoY
- Brazil's electricity demand reached 620 TWh in 2022, up 2.8%
- Global air conditioning demand drove 10% of electricity growth in 2022
- U.S. transportation sector electricity use grew 8% to 18 billion kWh in 2022, mostly EVs
- In 2022, data centers consumed 240-340 TWh globally, 1-1.3% of total electricity
- Germany's electricity consumption dropped 4.1% to 512 TWh in 2022
- France's consumption was 475 TWh in 2022, down 4.2%
- Peak electricity demand in California hit 52,061 MW on Sept 6, 2022
- South Korea's electricity sales totaled 555 TWh in 2022, industry 53%
- Australia's electricity consumption was 265 TWh in 2022, down 1.3%
- Global EV charging consumed 30 TWh in 2022, up 55% YoY
- U.K. electricity demand fell 4% to 300 TWh in 2022
- Russia's electricity consumption grew 1.5% to 1,100 TWh in 2022
- Mexico's demand reached 310 TWh in 2022, industry 45%
- In 2023, global heat pump electricity use rose 11% to 450 TWh
- Saudi Arabia's peak demand hit 72 GW in 2022 summer
- Iran's electricity consumption exceeded 350 TWh in 2022, up 5%
- South Africa's demand averaged 210 TWh in 2022
- U.S. summer peak demand forecast at 748 GW for 2023, up 3%
- Global electricity demand growth slowed to 2.2% in 2023
- China's residential consumption grew 7% to 1,300 TWh in 2023
- EU industry electricity use dropped 13% in 2022
- World electricity demand per capita averaged 3,500 kWh in 2022
Consumption Interpretation
The world is on a power trip, with global demand marching stubbornly upward, yet the cold reality of an energy crisis caused Europe's consumption to drop while our growing addiction to cooling, data centers, and electric vehicles ensures the meter is still running at a frantic pace.
Economics
- U.S. electricity market revenue $400 billion in 2022
- Global electricity generation investment $800 billion in 2022
- U.S. average retail price 15.95 cents/kWh in 2023, up 6.3%
- China wholesale electricity price averaged 0.45 RMB/kWh in 2022
- EU electricity wholesale prices peaked at €800/MWh in Aug 2022
- India's average tariff 6.72 INR/kWh in FY2023
- Global capacity market value $50 billion annually
- U.S. residential bills averaged $138/month in 2022
- Brazil electricity tariffs rose 10% to BRL 0.65/kWh in 2023
- Germany's EEG surcharge fell to 3.72 cents/kWh in 2023
- Global renewable subsidies $1.1 trillion in 2022, fossils $1.3T
- U.K. CfD auctions cleared 11 GW offshore wind at £47/MWh in 2022
- Japan's FIT solar price dropped to 10 yen/kWh in 2023
- Australia NEM wholesale prices averaged AUD 100/MWh in 2022
- U.S. PJM capacity auction cleared 42 GW at $269/MW-day for 2024/25
- South Korea electricity sales revenue KRW 70 trillion in 2022
- Global PPAs signed 20 GW renewables in 2022, value $30B
- France ARENH price rose to €100/MWh in 2023
- Texas ERCOT energy payments $20B in summer 2022 heatwave
- Global grid investment needs $3.3T by 2030
- U.S. utility capex $120B in 2022
- India's power sector debt $150B end-2022
- EU ETS revenue €38B in 2022 for energy transition
- Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 power investments $80B
- Global electricity trade volume 2,500 TWh in 2022, value $100B
Economics Interpretation
The sheer scale of capital, from trillions in global investments to tens of billions in single market revenues, reveals an industry in a furious and expensive race to modernize, where the only thing more volatile than the weather-dependent generation is the price paid to keep the lights on.
Generation
- In 2022, global electricity generation totaled 28,538 terawatt-hours (TWh), with fossil fuels accounting for 59.4% of the mix
- Coal-fired power plants generated 10,179 TWh worldwide in 2022, representing 36.4% of total electricity production
- Natural gas contributed 23.2% to global electricity generation in 2022, producing approximately 6,627 TWh
- Nuclear power generated 2,650 TWh globally in 2022, accounting for 9.3% of total electricity
- In the United States, electricity generation from utility-scale facilities reached 4,178 billion kWh in 2022
- China's electricity generation hit 8,540 TWh in 2022, led by coal at 62% share
- India's total electricity generation was 1,621 TWh in FY2022-23, with coal dominating at 73%
- In the EU-27, electricity generation from renewables reached 44% of total in 2022, totaling 1,200 TWh
- Japan generated 1,010 TWh of electricity in 2022, with natural gas at 32% and coal at 29%
- Brazil's hydroelectric generation accounted for 58% of its 680 TWh total in 2022
- In 2023, global solar PV generation grew by 24% to 1,160 TWh
- Wind power generated 2,160 TWh globally in 2023, up 10% from 2022
- South Korea's electricity generation reached 595 TWh in 2022, coal 34.5%
- Australia's coal generation was 160 TWh in 2022, 47% of total 345 TWh
- In 2022, hydropower produced 4,240 TWh worldwide, 15% of global electricity
- U.S. natural gas generation hit 1,730 billion kWh in 2022, 40% of total
- Germany's electricity generation fell to 494 TWh in 2022 due to nuclear phase-out
- France relied on nuclear for 379 TWh, 68% of its 551 TWh total in 2022
- Canada's total generation was 643 TWh in 2022, hydro 60%
- Russia's electricity output was 1,124 TWh in 2022, gas 47%
- In 2022, oil-fired generation was only 2.5% globally at 714 TWh
- Saudi Arabia generated 410 TWh in 2022, gas 58%
- Mexico's generation totaled 330 TWh in 2022, gas 50%
- Turkey produced 330 TWh in 2022, coal 35%
- In 2023 Q1, U.S. coal generation dropped 18% YoY to 356 million MWh
- Global bioenergy electricity generation reached 650 TWh in 2022
- U.K. gas generation was 128 TWh in 2022, 38% of total
- Iran's electricity generation hit 370 TWh in 2022, gas 85%
- South Africa's coal generation dominated at 200 TWh, 80% of 250 TWh total in 2022
- In 2022, geothermal power generated 95 TWh globally, mostly in Asia-Pacific
Generation Interpretation
The global electricity grid remains a stubbornly old-fashioned party where coal and gas are still hogging the punch bowl, despite renewables increasingly trying to spike it with some much-needed new energy.
Infrastructure
- U.S. transmission lines span 240,000 miles at 230 kV and above in 2022
- Global high-voltage transmission lines total over 2.5 million km
- U.S. has 160,000 miles of high-voltage lines (>100 kV)
- China's grid has 1.2 million km of 35 kV+ lines as of 2022
- EU interconnected grid capacity is 300 GW across borders
- India added 15,000 circuit km of transmission lines in FY2022-23
- Global transformer capacity installed is 25,000 GW
- U.S. distribution lines total 5.5 million miles
- Japan has 170,000 km of extra-high voltage lines
- Brazil's transmission grid spans 150,000 km at 230 kV+
- Substation transformer failures average 1.5% annually globally
- U.S. smart meter installations reached 120 million by 2023, 70% of households
- Global HVDC lines total 40,000 km in 2023, up 5%
- Germany's grid expansion added 1,900 km onshore wind connections in 2022
- France has 110,000 km of overhead lines
- Australia's National Electricity Market interconnects 5 states over 40,000 km
- South Korea's grid has 99.9% reliability, with 34,000 substations
- U.K. supergrid has 7,000 km of 275/400 kV lines
- Saudi Arabia invested $10B in grid expansion 2022-2023, adding 5 GW
- Global battery storage capacity reached 28 GW in 2022
- U.S. curtailment losses averaged 1.3% of generation in 2022
- China's UHVDC lines total 44,000 km, transmitting 300 GW
- India’s inter-regional transfer capacity hit 116 GW in 2023
- Global grid losses average 8.1% of generation
- U.S. average outage duration 1.5 hours per customer annually 2022
- EU grid digitalization covers 60% of networks by 2023
Infrastructure Interpretation
It's a vast, expensive, and increasingly digital web of copper and ambition, stitching nations together while trying not to trip over its own shoelaces during a storm.
Renewables
- Global installed solar PV capacity reached 1,050 GW in 2022
- Wind power capacity hit 899 GW globally end-2022, onshore 837 GW, offshore 62 GW
- Hydropower capacity totaled 1,296 GW worldwide in 2022
- Global bioenergy capacity for power was 145 GW in 2022
- Geothermal capacity stood at 15.8 GW end-2022, led by Indonesia and U.S.
- U.S. solar capacity added 14.8 GW in 2022, total 129 GW
- China installed 87 GW solar in 2022, total 392 GW
- EU wind capacity reached 255 GW in 2022
- India’s renewable capacity hit 175 GW end-FY2023, 42% of total
- Brazil solar capacity grew to 24 GW in 2022, up 300%
- Global offshore wind capacity grew 26% to 62 GW in 2022
- U.S. battery storage added 8.4 GW in 2022, total 16 GW
- Germany's solar installations hit 48 GW cumulative by 2023
- Vietnam added 11 GW solar in 2022, total 17 GW
- Global CSP capacity 7.8 GW end-2022, mostly China and Spain
- U.K. offshore wind capacity 13.9 GW end-2022
- Australia's large-scale renewables reached 30 GW in 2022
- Morocco's Noor Ouarzazate CSP 580 MW operational 2023
- Global green hydrogen for power storage pilots 1 GW electrolyzer capacity 2023
- Texas ERCOT wind capacity 40 GW, 25% of generation 2022
- Denmark wind share 55% of electricity in 2022, capacity 10 GW
- Chile solar capacity 8 GW end-2022, hydro 7 GW
- Global floating solar 5 GW operational 2023
- South Africa's REIPPPP added 6 GW renewables by 2023
Renewables Interpretation
While the sun and wind are now throwing a genuinely disruptive party with over 1,000 GW and 899 GW respectively, the hydropower dam in the corner—still the elder statesman at 1,296 GW—is calmly asking if anyone brought storage for all this.
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