A key reason was the record-high capacity of renewable energy infrastructure brought into operation. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global capacity of newly-launched solar panels and wind turbines reached 461.5 gigawatts (GW), surpassing the installed capacity of nuclear reactors (374.6 GW by May 2024, according to the IAEA). As a result, the output of solar and wind power plants in 2023 went up by 23% (by 307 TWh) and 10% (by 206 TWh), respectively. China, which provided over 60% of the capacity of wind and solar generators launched worldwide, also played a crucial role in the actual increase in power output: according to Ember, China accounted for 60% and 51% of the increase in power generation from wind turbines and solar power plants, respectively, in 2023.
The output of hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) dropped by 2%, or by 88 TWh. This was mainly caused by dry weather in China, due to which power generation at HPPs in the country decreased by 59 TWh in 2023, even despite the record-high capacity of newly-launched pumped storage power plants (PSPPs): according to IRENA, China accounted for over 90% of the PSPP capacity launched worldwide in 2023 (14.5 GW out of 14.8 GW), making it possible to store energy during the hours of low demand. A significant reduction in hydroelectric power generation was also recorded in India, Vietnam and Mexico last year. Coal-fired power plants played an offsetting role in this regard: it is no coincidence that the four countries mentioned – China, India, Vietnam and Mexico – accounted for 95% of the global increase in coal-fired power generation in 2023.
Power generation from biomass rose by 3.1% (by 21 TWh) in 2023, and its share remained at 2.4% (with HPPs at 14.3%, the total share of solar and wind at 13.4% and all other RES at 0.2%). The greatest increase in the popularity of this source of electricity was observed in China and Japan, where the share of biomass in the energy mix in the period from 2015 to 2023 went up from 0.9% to 2.2% and from 2.8% and 4.8%, respectively.
By and large, renewable energy sources will remain the fastest growing segment of the global power industry in the coming years, including due to lower costs. IRENA estimates that the average global cost of bringing capacities into operation dropped by 42% for onshore wind farms (to $1,274 per kilowatt, kW) and by 83% for solar panels (to $876 per kW) in the period from 2010 to 2022.
