Green Forum • 21 June, 2024 at 8:00 AM
Ember estimates that 20% of global electricity generation across midday peaks on the solstice today will come from solar and in the entire month of June, solar will generate 8.2% of global electricity.
Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the world, with China leading the way by installing 152% more solar capacity in 2023 compared to the previous year. This surge underscores solar's pivotal role in the global clean energy revolution, with 34 economies now generating over 10% of their electricity from solar. As solar continues to expand, it is poised to further transform the power sector and accelerate the world's transition to renewable energy.
Across the year, global solar generation peaks in the summer months of the northern hemisphere, where Ember estimates 89% of the world's solar panels are installed.
Ember tracks monthly electricity generation for 80 countries. Based on historical monthly data, monthly global solar generation is quite similar from May to August, although its share falls slightly towards August, as global electricity demand rises due to increased air conditioning demand in the northern hemisphere.
Ember's forecast for June 2024 is 8.2%, compared to 6.7% recorded in June 2023. In absolute terms, Ember expects solar to rise by 28%, from 157 TWh in June 2023 to 201 TWh in June 2024.
Across the whole of 2023, solar generated a record 5.5% of global electricity.
In China, the world's largest solar market accounting for 36% of global solar generation in 2023, we expect the share of solar in total electricity generation to reach 9.6% in June 2024, up from 7% in June 2023. On average, for the full year2023, solar's share in China's electricity generation was 6.2%.
For the EU, a global wind and solar leader, we expect the solar share across June to be more than double the global average at 20%, up from 17% in June 2023. On average, for the entire year 2023, the EU's solar share was 9.2%. For Spain, which has one of the highest solar shares in the EU and the world, the share of solar in June 2024 is expected to be even higher at 30%.
Meanwhile, the US and India are expected to have very similar solar share in June 2024, at 6.9% and 7.1% respectivelycompared to the global average of 8.2%. Both countries had very similar annual average solar share in 2023, with the US at 5.6% and India at 5.8%, slightly higher than the global average of 5.5%.