416 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS IN OPERATION
376,261 MWe TOTAL NET INSTALLED CAPACITY
63 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
66,190 MWe TOTAL NET INSTALLED CAPACITY
Record rise in renewables pushes clean power generation above 40% of global electricity
A record surge in renewables spearheaded by solar power, combined with increased nuclear output, pushed clean electricity’s share to 40.9% of global electricity in 2024, up from 39.4% in 2023. 2024 was the first year that low-carbon sources delivered more than 40% of global electricity since the 1940s, when the global electricity system was 50 times smaller than it is today.
The global share of wind (8.1%) and solar (6.9%) is rapidly increasing, together exceeding hydropower for the first time in 2024. Hydro remained the largest source of clean electricity, providing 14.3% of global electricity generation in 2024, followed by nuclear at 9.0%. Despite remaining the two largest sources of low-carbon electricity, hydro and nuclear are not increasing their share – with nuclear’s share falling to a 45-year low in 2024 – as generation has been growing more slowly than electricity demand.
Other renewables, such as bioenergy and geothermal power, contributed 2.6% of global electricity in 2024.
80 countries generated more than 50% of their electricity from clean sources in 2024, including 47 countries that reached more than 75%.
As the global share of clean sources rose, the share of fossil fuels in the electricity mix consequently fell from 60.6% in 2023 to 59.1% in 2024, dropping below 60% for the first time since the 1940s. Coal power provided 34.4% of global electricity in 2024 and gas 22%, with other fossil fuels contributing 2.8%.