'A new era': Renewables set to start squeezing out fossil fuels after breakthrough 2023

The world has reached a historical turning point, with renewables set to start squeezing fossil fuels out of the energy mix after meeting a record 30% of global electricity demand last year, according to new analysis.

“The renewables revolution – led by solar and wind – is breaking records and driving ever-cleaner electricity production,” said UK energy think tank Ember in a new report.

Ember forecast that a “new era” of declining power sector emissions is about to begin, with fossil fuel generation to “fall slightly” this year, leading to larger falls in the future.

This is because the expected growth in electricity demand this year, 968TWh, is expected to be outstripped by the growth in clean power generation, at 1,300TWh, leading to a 2% drop in fossil fuel generation.

A “permanent decline” in fossil fuel use is now “inevitable,” said Ember.

This decline would have been seen in 2023 had it not been for drought causing a five-year low in hydropower, causing a drop in generation that Ember said was largely met by coal.

“The renewables future has arrived,” said Dave Jones, global insights programme director at Ember. “Solar in particular is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible.”

“The decline of power sector emissions is now inevitable,” he said, with last year likely representing the “pivot point” of peak emissions in the power sector, “a major turning point in the history of energy.”

China has increasingly driven the global buildout of wind and solar, accounting for 51% of new solar and 60% of new wind last year, according to the report.

Wind and solar met a record 13.4% of global electricity demand last year. Combined with nuclear, that meant the world generated almost 40% of its electricity from low-carbon sources.

Global electricity demand grew to a record high in 2023, adding 627TWh, around the entire demand of Canada.