From wind to solar, renewable energy sources are providing power to millions of people around the world. But while some major economies are leading the way when it comes to switching from fossil fuels to renewables, others are still lagging far behind.
Read on to discover how much of your country's energy came from renewable sources in 2022, the latest year for which complete data is available, using figures from Our World In Data (unless otherwise stated) – and find out where it ranks compared to other nations.
All dollar amounts in US dollars.
South Africa is certainly not a world leader when it comes to renewable energy, with sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower comprising just 3.88% of its primary power in 2022.
Solar energy is a particularly as-yet-untapped market for the nation, with most regions basking in more than 2,500 hours of sunlight each year. Despite this, solar accounted for just 1.21% of the nation's primary energy in 2022.
However, the situation is improving, with data from South African electricity company Eskom showing the amount of electricity generated from solar panels rising by a staggering 350% between March 2022 and March 2023.
What's more, Defy Appliances, the country's largest domestic appliances producer, announced late last year it's starting production on a solar-powered range, which will include fridges and freezers.
Next on our list is India, which generated 10.4% of its primary energy from renewables in 2022. Of this, 4.5% came from hydropower, 2.45% from solar, and 1.8% from wind.
The country is keen to tackle its low percentages of solar and wind energy. Last April, India's Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced it will issue renewable project bids, worth a total of 50 gigawatts (GW), annually during the financial years 2024-2028. Wind power will account for at least 10GW of this each year.
The Indian government has pledged to generate 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2030, while MNRE aims to have a maximum renewable electricity capacity of 500GW by the same year. This will include 280GW of solar energy.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has predicted that renewable sources will generate 44% of America's electricity by 2050.
The nation has a long way to go to get there, with renewable sources accounting for just 11.32% of America's primary energy in 2022. Of this, 4.3% came from wind, 2.53% from hydropower, and 2.02% from solar.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for the world's largest oil producer, the USA is struggling to break up with fossil fuels entirely, despite its best efforts to go green. Texas, for example, is America's largest producer of both oil and non-renewable energy.
The prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency could potentially endanger the nation's long-term environmental goals; the former POTUS recently condemned wind farms for "causing whales to die in numbers never before seen".
Unlike neighbouring New Zealand, Australia isn't leading the way when it comes to renewables, which made up just 14.45% of its primary energy share in 2022.
According to industry modelling carried out by the Clean Energy Council, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese will need to increase investment in the country's renewable energy sector to AU$10 billion ($7bn/£5bn) a year for the next decade if the nation is to compete in the global clean energy "arms race".
The Council claimed that a failure to invest in renewables would leave Australia "at the back of the queue for the technology and skills [it needs]."
France generated 14.62% of its primary energy from renewable sources in 2022 and still has a long way to go before it meets its environmental targets. According to French electricity operator RTE, the nation needs to triple its use of renewable energy while also trimming around one-third of its overall energy consumption by 2035.
These steps are necessary if the country is to meet EU goals of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030, according to Euractiv.
France has failed to meet targets before. For example, it was supposed to generate 23% of its total energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020 but didn't manage to do so.
It seems likely France won't meet its latest set of targets either. The French government has announced plans to "more than double" its renewable power capacity by 2035 – an admirable ambition but one that still falls short of RTE's estimations.
Research by Drax Electric Insights suggests that 2022 was a record-breaking year for the UK, with 40% of the nation's electricity generated by renewable sources. But it's not all good news. The same data revealed that the production of energy from fossil fuels was at its highest level since 2016.
While the UK is notorious for its temperamental weather, it definitely has its benefits, and wind power accounted for 10.29% of the country's primary energy in 2022. Politicians are currently mulling over a range of local incentives to encourage support for green energy projects. For example, a community could benefit from a new doctors' surgery or nursery in exchange for approving a nearby wind farm.
But with Rishi Sunak recently giving the go-ahead to the UK's first new coal mine in 30 years, it's clear the country isn't solely committed to boosting its green credentials just yet.
In February 2022, Germany revealed plans to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035 – five years ahead of its previous deadline.
In the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, the country has been under increasing pressure from its European neighbours to lessen its reliance on Russian gas. And while some nations are embracing nuclear power as a fossil fuel alternative, Germany shut the doors of its remaining nuclear power plants last spring. So how does Europe's largest economy plan to generate its energy?
Wind and solar are expanding markets in Germany, with a government draft paper revealing targets for them to account for 80% of energy by 2030. To achieve this, the country's current wind energy capacity will need to double, while its solar energy capacity will need to more than treble.
But the clean energy transition is proving tricky amid ongoing shortages sparked by the war in Ukraine. The German cabinet has recently approved a measure that will bring a number of coal-powered plants back online until March this year to offer insurance against black-outs over the winter.
Of the total energy it consumed in 2022, Portugal sourced nearly 29% from renewables.
With hydroelectric dams and wind turbines generating much of this supply (at 6.58% and 13.49% of primary power respectively), the European nation has already invested significantly in clean energy and self-sufficiency. The Portuguese government is keen to ramp this up as much as possible due to the havoc the war in Ukraine is wreaking on energy markets.
Portugal shut down its last two coal mines at the end of 2021, officially showing its desire to move away from fossil fuel energy. This made it the fourth European nation to turn its back on coal – and unlike Germany, it's showing no signs of reopening its plants anytime soon.
Once highly dependent on fossil fuels, Ecuador's government has bet big on hydropower over the last decade or so, building eight new facilities.
Yet despite its comparatively impressive use of renewables, which accounted for 30.13% of its primary energy in 2022, the country only recently halted plans to double its production of "black gold" by 2028.
In 2021, several major EU banks agreed to stop financing Ecuador's oil trade to help protect the Amazon's rainforests. This decision followed protests from Indigenous communities across the country, who wanted a moratorium on expanding fossil fuel extraction activities on their territories.
In August last year, voters approved a total ban on oil drilling in a 2.5-million-acre stretch of land in the Yasuní National Park in the Amazon, a region that had previously produced almost 60,000 barrels a day.
Significantly outpacing its North American neighbour, Canada generated 30.62% of its energy through renewable processes in 2022.
Most of this came from hydropower, with all but two of the country's provinces boasting at least one hydroelectric power station. In fact, government statistics suggest that more than 60% of Canadian households and businesses are now fuelled by hydropower.
Solar and wind are trailing behind, although that could soon change. According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, Canada rose six points in its ranking of the world's top destinations for clean energy investment last year, meaning it reached 14th place. (Interestingly, the US scored highest on the list despite being more reliant on fossil fuels).
Foreign investment in the country includes Sweden's H2 Green Steel, a company striving to produce "low-carbon steel" (as reported by Steel Times International), and it's in talks to build a factory in northern Quebec.
But the road to 100% renewables is unlikely to be smooth, with one of Canada's most significant stumbling blocks expected to be push-back from the oil-rich province of Alberta.
A leader in South America – and the world, for that matter – when it comes to consuming smaller amounts of fossil fuels, Colombia has ample potential for renewable energy.
As in Canada, hydropower is the most substantial source of Colombia's electricity and is generated via the numerous dam projects already established across the country, with many more planned.
However, there are concerns the country is too reliant on one source of energy, leaving it vulnerable. This is especially pertinent when factoring in potential climate change side effects, such as drought, which could reduce the capacity for energy generation.
As part of its efforts to diversify, 2022 saw the country celebrate the launch of its first wind farm in nearly two decades, with several others tipped for construction by 2025.
Hydroelectric power accounts for more than 50% of Switzerland's total renewable energy, followed by wood, waste, ambient heat, solar, biofuels, biogases, and wind (as listed on the Swiss Federal Council website).
In 2022, the country faced diminished levels of hydropower due to low water levels during the hot, dry summer. Partly to safeguard against this kind of climate change, the Swiss government is aiming to boost its reliance on alternative energy sources such as solar power, with solar farms in elevated Alpine areas set to "play a particularly key role in the future", the Swiss Federal Council has revealed.
Another plan is to phase out Switzerland's reliance on nuclear power, which accounted for 16% of energy consumed in 2021.
One of the top consumers of renewable energy in Europe, Austria, much like Germany, aims to generate 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. To meet this goal, the nation is planning numerous hydroelectric, wind, and solar projects.
With its bountiful mountains and rivers, the country has been backing hydroelectric resources since the 19th century – the year 1884, to be precise.
Following the First World War, Austria began to invest heavily in hydro to cope with coal shortages, with the International Hydropower Association noting that the sector "experienced another revitalisation following the injection of funds from the European Recovery Program in the 1950s".
Industry experts suggest there's still capacity for the Alpine nation to develop more hydropower to meet increased electricity demand. However, as this energy source is vulnerable to climate change, Austria is also busy developing its wind energy output.
Obtaining more than one-third of its energy from renewable sources, Finland is yet another nation leading the way by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.
With its vast forests, the Nordic nation is working particularly hard to establish itself as a leader in bioenergy (also referred to as "biogas"), an energy source that's essentially formed using waste from the forestry industry. It can also be generated by agriculture and industrial production.
Biogas, biomass, and wood-fuels in general are usually considered to be carbon neutral because the plants involved will have absorbed carbon dioxide during their lifecycle. In recent times, Finland has seen significant investments in biogas, which can be used as a replacement for natural gas, while Nordic firm Ren-Gas is developing a series of power-to-gas projects across the nation.
Top in its region when it comes to the renewables race, New Zealand is ambitiously working toward its goal of phasing out fossil fuels by 2035.
Like many countries on our list, hydroelectricity is a significant source of New Zealand's energy. However, providing a reliable supply means storing water, and the country has limited capacity for doing so, meaning hydroelectric power can be inconsistent.
To address this, New Zealand is investigating the possibility of a multibillion-dollar pumped hydroelectric storage solution. Nicknamed the "NZ Battery Project", it's hoped the results of the research will enable the country to generate electricity during dry spells.
Nearly half the energy consumed in Brazil in 2022 came from renewables, meaning it had one of the highest rates on the planet.
Like many of the other countries in the top 10, Brazil is a heavy hitter when it comes to hydropower, and it's the world's second-biggest producer of hydroelectricity behind China.
Brazil also boasts an ample stretch of Atlantic coastline that can be used for wind power, as well as areas of arid landscape that can accommodate solar installations. Massive investment is underway to develop these renewable energy options, with money also being pumped into the country's already established hydro sector.
As the world's largest sugar producer, there's also plenty of scope for Brazil to make ethanol. However, the local plants lack the financial resources to process more sugarcane, piquing investors' interest.
One of the very few countries that consumes more renewables than it does fossil fuels, Sweden is a green energy leader both in Europe and around the world.
In 2012, it reached its 50% renewable energy target eight years ahead of schedule, thanks to policies that incentivised green energy. These included requiring electricity companies to buy a certain amount of green energy and giving power producers a certification for generating it.
But the nation isn't stopping there, with Sweden increasingly banking on biogas to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels further. The Lidingö-based Swedish Biofuels, for example, has developed a technology it calls "Alcohol to Jet" (ATJ) to make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The ATJ process uses biomass, residual gases, and hydrogen to create the fuel – and as a bonus, the production creates excess heat that can be routed to Stockholm's combined heat and power plant.
Three ATJ production facilities are in the works, with the first set to open near the Swedish capital's Arlanda Airport. The debut SAF shipment is expected to be delivered in 2025, with engineers anticipating the substance could replace as much as 40% of the aviation fuel required for Arlanda.
Consuming primarily renewable energy in 2022, Norway is a true leader in reducing reliance on fossil fuels – at home, at least.
The Scandinavian country has substantial oil and gas resources but only uses a tiny fraction domestically. The vast quantities of oil and gas it sends to the UK and Europe comprise around half of its total exports.
In 2022, however, the government unveiled plans for expanding wind power capacity in the North Sea, working in collaboration with several energy companies. It hopes to export much of this electricity instead.
Norway also has ambitious goals for developing hydrogen fuels as part of its carbon-reduction efforts. In 2018, the government announced a ban on carbon-emitting cruise ships and ferries from entering its UNESCO-protected fjords, starting in 2026.
This inspired a group of industrial investors to partner on hydrogen factories specifically to fuel ships, and the company has quickly attracted investment while growing to include projects further afield in the Nordic region. Watch this space...
Now discover which countries are winning the race to net zero