Danny Kennedy | Global clean energy records

‍Just as a snake sheds its skin, 2025 is all about clean energy transformation and rebirth

Column reprinted courtesy of the fine people at Climate & Capital Media. Find the original here.

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EUROPA: Solar and wind growth pushed fossil fuel power to its lowest in 40 years

Europe started a little slower in 2024 than the previous year but ended in a very strong position. Solar and wind growth pushed fossil fuel power to its lowest in 40 years. Solar generated more actual electrons than coal in the EU in 2024. It was also a record year for German wind, with 2,400 new onshore wind turbines approved. Turkey met most of its energy demand growth with solar. Overall, coal power is down an incredible 61% over the past decade. Norway is on the brink of achieving its target of 100% of new electric cars by 2025.

The accelerating decarbonization, well documented by the European Environmental Agency, is due to the rapid expansion of renewable energy paired with reduced use of fossil fuels and significant clean energy efficiency gains, catalyzed partly by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Renewable energy has grown from 10% in 2005 to over a quarter by last year, and they’ve continued to reduce energy consumption. Primary energy use is down 20% since 2005. As a result, in 2023, renewable energy sources represented an estimated 24.1% of the European Union’s final energy use.

South Asia: Pakistan’s Great Solar Rush

Moving on to South Asia. The big story is Pakistan, with the continuation of the solar rush there. Bloomberg and others reported at the end of last year that this boom might go bust. But another five gigawatts of photovoltaics have been imported into Pakistan since their previous fiscal year closed. So, there is no slacking there on the part of the Pakistan Solar Association and friends trying to keep providing customers with low-cost PV and energy.

To support this transition, Renewables First, in collaboration with the Pakistan Solar Association, recently presented: “The Great Solar Rush in Pakistan: Keeping the Momentum” in Islamabad. It’s worth a listen.

India has also been doing its best to boot renewable power and meet its goal to power 375 million homes with renewable energy by 2030. Indeed, it’s looking to beat that number as it continues to develop its domestic industry to make cells and solar modules. But India has also increased imports from China as political and economic tensions ease. Combine that with the wind developments in-country, and India will beat its 500-gigawatt goal by 2030 (see graph below).

En Afrique: incroyable solaire

The continent had a slower start in the first half of 2024, and many people wondered whether it would be as good as 2023 for clean energy. But sure enough, it was! That’s because China, in the second half of the year, turned on the tap for export to emerging markets and developing economies, including some to the continent. Solar exports from China to Africa were up 187% (+3.7 GW), making it the fastest-growing region in the world. Several countries have increased their volumes of low-cost photovoltaic imports by the end of the year from 20 to 80 megawatts per month. Those are big numbers in these small electricity systems!

Here’s one example: Nigerian imports of solar panels from China.

MENA: Solar will contribute over half of the power supply by 2050

Middle East and North African countries won’t be left behind either. Several are investing in giant solar power projects, aiming to boost the share of renewable energy in their power generation mix. Contrary to the perception of this as an oil-powered place, photovoltaics (PV) will contribute over half of the Middle East’s power supply by 2050. Of course, if things carry on as they have – accelerating in the adoption of clean energy- then it will be more than that per the Solar S Curve. Nonetheless, whodda thunk it would be Oman, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia leading the charge?

One example: The United Arab Emirates just announced the world’s first gigawatt-scale baseload renewables project and the world’s largest combined solar and battery project. Featuring 5.2 GW of solar and a 19 GWh battery, the project will provide 1GW of firm, 24/7 power.

Aussies: Renewable begins to exceed demand

Australia, particularly South Australia, made remarkable strides in 2024 for clean energy use. The penetration of renewables has exceeded demand on many days and periods on the grid. Thanks to rooftop solar, a significant part of this is entirely distributed. They’ve got some of the most advanced Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and digitized grid management solutions anywhere, and they’re building out a lot of battery energy storage solutions as well.

The result? The government has changed its tune and recommitted to its significant renewable energy targets by 2030. They’ve started to pony up more money, including a billion for green aluminum and two billion more into its successful Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australia’s green bank. Of course, all this progress is politically at risk if the upcoming general election goes awry and conservative Rupert Murdoch clone, Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, is elected.

He claims he wants to put nukes up and down the country, which, of course, isn’t going to happen because of the cost, decades of delay in building from a cold start, and the fact that no one wants them in their backyards. This includes his own constituents who, in rural Queensland, have solar on 60% of their rooftops. They would have to be cut off from the grid to facilitate nuclear power generation, so-called baseload, which can’t be ramped up and down. For a farcical take on what Dutton’s nuclear charade is really all about — extending the life of coal and gas — check out this hilarious Aussie-made video.

In a surprisingly bold move, the CEO of mining giant Rio Tinto this week pushed back against Dutton’s claim that big industry needs more gas, telling the media that renewable energy and battery storage will work, particularly for Rio’s aluminum industry. Will other companies weigh in pre-election and call out Dutton’s call to move backward, not forward, with renewables in a country already hitting 46% renewable energy capacity? It seems that, once again, climate change and the energy transition will dominate the country’s federal election agenda.  

It would be a bummer if Dutton wins. He would set Australia – and, given the size of the country’s fossil fuel exports, the world – back yet again! For now, however, it’s good news down under, and as a nation with mandatory voting, there’s hope that more climate-focused independents could not only take seats but could take the balance of power.

China’s clean industrial policy kicks in

All in all, though, this race is still all about China this year. The numbers are now in, even since last month when we wrote the first part of this review, and indeed, China did break its records in 2024. According to China’s National Energy Administration, the nation put up 357 gigawatts of solar and wind (about 2.6 million homes), a 45% and 18% increase over what was operating at the end of 2023. That’s akin to building 200 European Power Reactor (EPR) nuclear plants in one year.

The installations meant China surpassed a goal, six years early, of having 1,200 gigawatts from renewables by 2030, a benchmark Chinese President Xi Jinping set five years ago to much skepticism. Solar production was up 45% and wind up 18%. China Energy Investment Corporation, the country’s biggest power producer, hit its renewable target ahead of schedule. Electric vehicles are impacting China’s oil consumption, with refinery throughput in 2024 down for the first time in two decades.

So, China’s green industrial policy has started to kick in. Taking advantage of the chaos in Washington under President Donald Trump, China is extending its lead in the energy transition. Renewable energy exports continue to surge.

This is a time for transformation and rebirth; just as a snake sheds its skin, this year can be about growth, reinvention, and starting fresh. That looks like the energy transformation that is afoot when you ignore the noise coming from the US of A.

That’s the roundout. Shine on!