For the first time in history, wind and solar power together crossed the 10% threshold for global electricity generation — a milestone that shows the energy transition is not a distant promise but an unfolding reality. According to a 2022 C.E. report from Ember, an independent climate think tank, wind and solar accounted for 10.3% of total global electricity in 2021 C.E., up from 9.3% the year before. Taken together, all clean energy sources — including hydro, nuclear, and bioenergy — supplied 38% of the world’s power, outpacing coal for the first time.
At a glance
- Global wind and solar share: Wind and solar combined reached 10.3% of global electricity generation in 2021 C.E., covering 209 countries tracked over two decades of data.
- Fastest-growing markets: The Netherlands, Australia, and Vietnam each shifted roughly a tenth of their total power supply from fossil fuels to wind and solar in just two years — among the fastest national energy transitions on record.
- Renewable energy growth rate: Solar generation rose 23% globally in 2021 C.E., while wind supply grew 14% — a combined pace that Ember says, if maintained through 2030 C.E., puts the power sector on track to meet the 1.5°C climate target.
A decade of momentum
The climb to 10% didn’t happen overnight. Wind and solar have sustained a 20% compound annual growth rate over the past decade — a pace almost unheard of in the energy sector. Just 20 years ago, the combined share of these two sources in global electricity was barely measurable.
Fifty countries now generate more than 10% of their electricity from wind and solar. Ten countries have crossed 25%. Denmark leads the world at 52%, generating more clean electricity from these two sources than it consumes. Spain, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom are not far behind.
China — often cited primarily for its coal dependence — quietly crossed the 10% wind-and-solar threshold for the first time in 2021 C.E. as well. Given that China represents the single largest electricity market on Earth, that crossing carries enormous weight for global totals.
Why the 1.5°C goal still depends on speed
Ember’s analysis found a clear mathematical path: if the 20% annual growth rate for wind and solar holds through 2030 C.E., the global power sector would be on track to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. That’s the threshold scientists warn the world must stay under to avoid the most severe consequences of climate disruption.
“We’re getting closer to that break-even where wind and solar can cover new electricity demand, but we are still not quite there,” said Dave Jones, Ember’s global lead. “If we maintain those growth rates, we will be there shortly.”
The key bottleneck is not technology or cost — it’s permitting, grid infrastructure, and policy speed. In many countries, approved wind and solar projects sit in queues for years before breaking ground. Governments that want to accelerate the transition need to clear those procedural logjams, not just set targets.
The honest complication: coal also surged
The same year that wind and solar hit their milestone, coal-fired generation saw its fastest growth since at least 1985 C.E. — up 9%, to 10,042 terawatt hours (TWh). Global electricity demand in 2021 C.E. rose by 1,414 TWh, its largest single-year increase on record, roughly equivalent to adding India’s entire electricity consumption to global totals. Much of that new demand was met by coal, not renewables.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector climbed to an all-time high that year, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 C.E. The energy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving up gas prices, pushed many countries to lean harder on the fuels they already had. The transition is real, but it is racing against rising demand — and demand is winning some rounds.
Momentum from unexpected places
Some of the most striking gains came from countries that rarely dominate energy headlines. Vietnam has become one of the world’s fastest solar deployers, driven by government feed-in tariffs and falling panel costs. Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2022 notes that Vietnam’s solar capacity grew from near zero to more than 16 gigawatts in just three years — a pace that rivals much wealthier nations.
Australia, meanwhile, has emerged as a per-capita leader in rooftop solar, with households and businesses driving much of the uptake independently of national policy. The Netherlands rapidly expanded offshore wind. These diverse pathways suggest the transition does not require a single political model — it is happening through market forces, policy incentives, community action, and necessity, often simultaneously.
The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook and the International Renewable Energy Agency have both noted that solar in particular is now the cheapest source of new electricity generation in history, a fact that is reshaping investment decisions in every region. Bloomberg’s energy coverage of the Ember report highlighted that costs for both technologies continue to fall, making the economic case for coal progressively harder to defend — even where political will is slow to catch up. And The Guardian’s reporting on this milestone underscored that the shift is now visible even in markets that were once considered unlikely adopters.
The 10% mark is not a finish line. But it is evidence that what once seemed an optimistic projection has become an observable trend — one that now spans 50 countries, two of the world’s largest economies, and every inhabited continent.
Read more
For more on this story, see: CNN
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- Global suicide rate has fallen by 40% since 1995
- The Good News for Humankind archive on renewable energy
About this article
- 🤖 This article is AI-generated, based on a framework created by Peter Schulte.
- 🌍 It aims to be inspirational but clear-eyed, accurate, and evidence-based, and grounded in care for the Earth, peace and belonging for all, and human evolution.
- 💬 Leave your notes and suggestions in the comments below — I will do my best to review and implement where appropriate.
- ✉️ One verified piece of good news, one insight from Antihero Project, every weekday morning. Subscribe free.
More Good News
-
Doctors hail first breakthrough in asthma and COPD treatment in 50 years
Benralizumab, a single injection given during an asthma or COPD attack, outperformed the steroid pills that have been the only emergency option since the 1970s. In a King’s College London trial of 158 patients, those who got the shot had four times fewer treatment failures over 90 days, along with easier breathing and fewer follow-up visits. Because steroids carry real risks with repeated use — diabetes, osteoporosis, and more — a genuine alternative could change daily life for millions of people who live in fear of the next flare-up. After a half-century of stalled progress on diseases that claim 3.8…
-
Mexico launches universal healthcare for all 133 million citizens
Mexico universal healthcare is now officially a reality, with the country launching a system designed to cover all 133 million citizens through the restructured IMSS-Bienestar network. Before this reform, an estimated 50 million Mexicans had no formal health insurance, with rural and Indigenous communities bearing the heaviest burden of untreated illness and medical debt. The new system severs the long-standing tie between employment and healthcare access, providing free consultations, medicines, and hospital services regardless of income. If implemented effectively, Mexico’s move could serve as a powerful model for other middle-income nations still navigating fragmented, inequitable health systems.
-
Ghana declares its first marine protected area to rescue depleted fish stocks
Ghana’s marine protected area — the country’s first ever — marks a historic turning point for a nation gripped by a quiet fisheries crisis. Established near Cape Three Points in the Western Region, the protected zone restricts or bans fishing activity to allow severely depleted fish populations to recover. Ghana’s coastal stocks have fallen by an estimated 80 percent from historic levels, threatening food security and the livelihoods of millions of small-scale fishers. The declaration also carries regional significance, potentially inspiring neighboring Gulf of Guinea nations to establish coordinated protections of their own.
