About 40% of the world’s power generation is now renewable::About 40% of the world’s power generation is now renewable

		83% of new power capacity created in 2022 was renewable, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report takes stock of the world's renewable en
  • @JohnDClayEnglish
    31•7 months ago

    I don’t see a graph here or source, do you know where it’s from? This is giving about 25%.

    World energy data

    From 2022

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2023/08/06/global-energy-trends-insights-from-the-2023-statistical-review-of-world-energy/

    Edit: here’s the original paper if people want to dig through it for the data. I have a feeling the headline above is just the capacity rather than the actual generation.

    https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Dec/2022-Year-in-Review-Climate-driven-Global-Renewable-Energy-Potential-Resources-and-Energy-Demand

    • @[email protected]English
      12•7 months ago

      The source in the article claims 27.8% so who knows…

      Actual power generation depends on the capacity factors (CF) – namely the ratio between the average electricity generated by a power system and its nominal rated (or maximum) power. Thus, in terms of power produced, in 2021 (the latest figures available) hydropower generated 4 400 TWh, wind power 1 840 TWh, and solar power 1 030 TWh (IRENA, 2023b). The total global electricity consumption, from all sources, including renewables, was 28 500 TWh in 2022, a 2.5% increase compared with 2021 (and a 25% increase compared with ten years earlier, 2013) (EMBER, 2023). According to IRENA (2023b) the percentage of electricity consumption met by RE was 27.8% in 2022, up from 27.6% in 2021.

      But in general they are talking about electricity, not energy. Maybe the 40% comes from best of situations when it’s windy where it needs to be and sunny where it needs to be.

      • @JohnDClayEnglish
        6•7 months ago

        Idk. They might be playing tricks with installed capacity vs the actual energy coming from them, since solar and wind only produce at peak capacity sometimes.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•7 months ago

      Biomass is also pretty much the worst “renewable” energy source. Consume a buch of water, use land that could be used for food, rising the cost of basics from the people that can’t afford to pay more.

      • @JohnDClayEnglish
        2•7 months ago

        And I wonder what the efficiency is compared to something like solar, growing a tree for years just to burn it. I’m guessing it’s pretty abysmal.

        Efficiency-wise, solar takes the lead. It converts around 15-20% of the sun’s energy into electricity, thanks to advances in tech. Biomass lags behind with 2-3% efficiency, mostly because of heat loss when burning.

        https://blog.ecoflow.com/us/biomass-energy-vs-solar-energy/