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Energy transition: which countries have the highest...
Observatory
05 September 2024

Energy transition: which countries have the highest electricity production from renewable sources?

Renewables are crucial in the decarbonisation strategy.
The European Commission has adopted a set of proposals to steer EU policies to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

Last March, a study was published by Mark Z. Jacobson, author of numerous books including 2023's “No Miracles Needed: How Today's Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air”, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and director of the Environment/Energy Programme at the same university, on the most renewable countries. The study covered the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 and compiled the list of 47 countries in the world where electricity production is derived - out of the total energy produced domestically - from 50 to 100 per cent from renewable sources (wind, hydro, photovoltaic and geothermal). In these 47 countries, the average of energy produced from renewable sources is 76.35%.
Albania, Bhutan, Nepal and Paraguay are the countries where the percentage of energy produced from renewable sources is 100%, almost entirely from hydropower.
The share of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) is highest in Namibia (31.59%); followed by El Salvador with 16.96% and Chile with 16.14%.
 
The 47 countries where most electricity is generated from renewable sources
The table below lists the 47 countries where most electricity is produced from renewable sources. The average of the 47 countries is 76.35. The top 22 countries are those that exceed it.
The last column identifies the countries where the photovoltaic and solar thermal energy component is higher than the average. 
 
 
 
Country
Electricity produced
(GWh/year)
Total Wind-Water-
Solar 100% 
Photovoltaic PV + Concentrating
Solar Thermal Power  (CSP)
1 Albania 8,963 100  
2 Bhutan 11 100  
3 Nepal 9,668 100  
4 Paraguay 40,576 100  
5 Iceland (2022 figure) 20,003 99,98  
6 Ethiopia 15,515 99,97  
7 Rep. Dem. Congo 13,190 99,78  
8 Costa Rica (2022 figure) 12,374 98,48  
9 Norway (data 2022) 146,799 98,37  
10 Namibia 1,507 97,28 31,59
11 Zambia 17,637 91,97  
12 Uganda 5,184 91,92  
13 Taijkistan 20,720 90,04  
14 Kenya 12,376 87,78  
15 Kyrgyzstan 15,138 85,59  
16 New Zealand (2022 figure) 44,697 84,85  
17 Mozambique 18,863 82,37  
18 Georgia 12,645 81,18  
19 Ecuador 32,128 79,91  
20 Brazil (2022 figure) 675,383 79,79 4,46
21 Venezuela 82,566 79,66  
22 Panama 12,107 78,12 4,84
23 Luxembourg (2022 figure) 2,213 75,92 10,35
24 Angola 16,783 75,30  
25 Laos 44,915 73,38  
26 Austria (2022 figure) 69,219 72,61 5,48
27 Colombia (2022 figure) 84,425 72,36  
28 Zimbabwe 8,454 70,33  
29 El Salvador 6,345 70,23 16,96
30 Canada (2022 figure) 656,110 67,58  
31 Uruguay 15,995 67,19  
32 Rep.Dem. Korea 25,566 63,23  
33 Croatia 15,212 62,65  
34 Cameroon 7,940 62,38  
35 Sudan 17,563 62,34  
36 Sweden (2022 figure) 173,195 60,82  
37 Peru 56,774 60,79  
38 Denmark (2022 figure) 34,976 60,31 6,3
39 Lithuania (2022 figure) 4,780 60,12 7,15
40 Latvia (2022 figure) 4,990 59,72  
41 Cambodia 10,158 58,72 6,33
42 Switzerland (2022 figure) 65,029 57,92 5,66
43 Ruanda 977 57,62  
44 Honduras 11,121 54,20 10,25
45 Portugal (2022 figure) 48,614 52,90 7,14
46 Swaizland 579 52,67  
47 Chile (2022 figure) 87,729 50,07 16,14
  Totale 2,699,061 Media 76,35 Media 3,93

 

 

An interesting focus is made on five countries with a large energy footprint: China, USA, Japan, India, Russia. For them, the share of renewable sources to produce electricity is very low.

 

 

Country
Electricity produced
(GWh/year)
Total Wind-Water-
Solar 100% 
China 8,634,175 26,9
USA (2022 figure) 4,501,875 20,76
Japan (2022 figure) 1,012,884 19,79
India 1,635,167 19,27
Russia 1,159,418 19,14
 

 

Renewable energies: what they are.

Renewable energies are clean because they safeguard people and the planet are named after the fact that they regenerate over time in a natural way and do not run out.

 

The main sources of renewable energy are:
  • solar energy;
  • wind energy;
  • hydropower;
  • geothermal energy;
  • biomass energy;
  • marine energy.

 

And Italy, where does it stand?

Positive signs are there, but speeding up is the key word for our country in terms of renewables. The new National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NIPEC) sets targets that raise the bar. For 2030, the target for power from renewable energy is 131GW, up 74GW from the 2021 target. Data from Il Sole 24 Ore's Green Transition Observatory (based on Terna data) tell us that 72.84GW were installed in the first 6 months of 2024. Given that in 2023 the installed power was 69.15, the pace of the first 6 months of this year suggests that the European targets are not so unattainable. 
Of the 72.84GW installed, 33.62GW, corresponding to 1,763,977 systems, concern photovoltaics (in 2019 it was 20.09 and growing steadily), 21.59GW concern hydro renewables, 12.7GW wind power and 4.93GW geothermal and biomass. 

 

Another important topic is the investment required for the development of renewables. 20 billion is the figure to be put in place in the period 2024-2030 to realise the objectives of the PNIEC (35.7 billion is reached with the development of wind power on and offshore). Many operators complain about delays and uncertainty in the approval times for the various measures. As of 30 June, 5,930 files had been submitted for renewable projects. For photovoltaics, 62.85% of the General Minimum Technical Solutions (STMGs) have been accepted, 34.50% of the projects are under evaluation, and 24.53% of the STMGs are to be accepted.
The adoption of renewable energy is a circular economy process that benefits everyone: people, businesses, communities, public administrations. It is a process that can no longer be postponed if we want to save the present and the future of Planet Earth.