Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have each generated over 99.7% of their electricity from renewables
Seven countries currently generate almost all of their electricity from renewable energy sources, according to newly compiled figures.
Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have each generated over 99.7% of their consumed electricity through geothermal, hydro, solar, or wind power sources, reports the Independent.
According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an additional 40 countries generated at least 50% of their consumed electricity from renewable energy technologies in 2021 and 2022, with 11 of them located in Europe.
“We don’t need miracle technologies,” said Stanford University Professor Mark Jacobson, who published the data.
“We need to stop emissions by electrifying everything and providing the electricity with Wind, Water and Solar (WWS), which includes onshore wind, solar photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, geothermal electricity, small hydroelectricity, and large hydroelectricity.”
Professor Jacobson also pointed out that countries such as Germany have demonstrated the capability to sustain themselves on 100% renewable-generated electricity for short periods of time.
Figures released by the IEA in January show that the UK generated 41.5% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2022 – up 10.5% from the year before.
In Scotland, renewable energy technologies generated the equivalent of 113% of the country’s overall electricity consumption in 2022.
“These record-breaking figures are a major milestone on Scotland’s journey to net-zero, clearly demonstrating the enormous potential of our world-class renewable energy resources,” Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said at the time.
Despite Scotland’s predominant reliance on wind power for electricity generation, researchers predict that solar energy will emerge as the dominant source for global electricity supply in the forthcoming decades.
In recent years, notable advancements have been made in enhancing the efficiency rates of solar cells, largely propelled by the promising material known as ‘perovskite,’ often referred to as the ‘miracle material.’
Commercial costs have also fallen, which led scientists at the University of Exeter and University College London to claim last year that solar energy has reached an “irreversible tipping point” that will see it become the world’s main source of energy by 2050.
Their 2023 paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that technological and economic advances meant the transition to clean energy is not just reachable, but inevitable.
“Due to technological trajectories set in motion by past policy, a global irreversible solar tipping point may have passed where solar energy gradually comes to dominate global electricity markets, without any further climate policies,” the researchers wrote in the study.
“Solar energy is the most widely available energy resource on Earth, and its economic attractiveness is improving fast in a cycle of increasing investments.”
