More than 40% of the world's electricity was generated by clean energy sources in 2024, according to a new report from think-tank Ember.

Low-carbon sources – renewables and nuclear – provided 40.9% of the world’s electricity generation last year, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s.

Renewables were the main driver of overall clean growth, adding a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022 – according to Ember’s sixth annual Global Electricity Review.

Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%.

Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row - solar electricity has doubled in just three years, providing more than 2,000 TWh of electricity in 2024.

Wind generation also grew to 8.1% of global electricity, while hydro’s share remained steady at 14% – the single largest renewable source.

“Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition,” said Phil MacDonald, Ember’s managing director.

“Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.”

Despite the rise in renewables, fossil generation saw a small 1.4% increase in 2024 due to surging electricity demand, pushing global power sector emissions up 1.6% to an all-time high.

Heatwaves were the main driver of the rise in fossil generation, accounting for almost a fifth (+0.7%) of the increase in global electricity demand in 2024 (+4.0%), mainly through additional use of cooling. 

“Amid the noise, it’s essential to focus on the real signal,” added MacDonald. “Hotter weather drove the fossil generation increase in 2024, but we’re very unlikely to see a similar jump in 2025.”

Aside from weather effects, increasing use of electricity for AI, data centres, electric vehicles and heat pumps is already contributing to global demand growth. Combined, growing use of these technologies accounted for a 0.7% increase in global electricity demand in 2024, double what they contributed five years ago.

The report shows that clean generation growth is set to outpace faster-rising demand in the coming years, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation.

The current expected growth in clean generation would be sufficient to meet a demand increase of 4.1% per year to 2030, which is above expectations for demand growth. 

Click here to read the full report.