A solar thermal plant in Nevada.
BLM Nevada
The global energy sector defied expectations this year, in ways both good and bad for the climate. Four charts highlight key trends in the transition to clean energy.
Solar is driving the shift to renewable power, and it continues to outpace the projections of both analysts and industry experts, reaching new highs in 2024, owing largely to China, which accounted for more than half of all solar installed globally this year. However, coal burning also continued to surpass expert predictions, also owing largely to China, which is responsible for more than half of all coal use globally and is facing rising power demand, including from electric cars.
Global EV sales reached a new high this year, though they fell short of expectations. The outlook for EVs is bright, as prices for lithium-ion batteries continue to drop, falling by 20 percent in 2024.
China is largely responsible for rising electric car sales, with EVs accounting for roughly half of all vehicles sold. In China, the sticker price for EVs is generally lower than for conventional cars.
The surge in EV sales in China is sending ripples through its energy sector. On the one hand, Chinese gasoline demand is slowing and will likely peak in the next few years. On the other, power demand is rising as EVs spur greater consumption of electricity.
Along with EVs, the growth of electric heating and cooling and the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers globally are driving up demand for power. The International Energy Agency sees coal use plateauing for the next few years, before dropping later this decade.
Coal use will largely be buoyed by developing countries. Wealthy nations have all but stopped building new coal plants, and coal burning is expected to continue its decline in the developed world as countries move to wind and solar.
In January, a solar array comprising nearly 2 million panels went online in California. It was the largest solar farm in the U.S., until July, when an even bigger solar system went online in Nevada. This U.S. saw solar and wind year overtake coal generation this year, while Britain shuttered its last remaining coal plant. Globally, solar additions likely exceeded all coal additions since 2010.
The clearest indication of where the world is headed on energy comes from investors, who this year put roughly $2 trillion into clean energy, according to one estimate. That’s roughly double investments in oil, coal, and natural gas.
“In energy history, we’ve witnessed the Age of Coal and the Age of Oil,” IEA chief Fatih Birol recently said. “We’re now moving at speed into the Age of Electricity, which will define the global energy system going forward and increasingly be based on clean sources of electricity.”
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