In an evaluation made to the AA correspondent, Alparslan stated that global electricity demand grew by 849 terawatt-hours last year compared to the previous year.
Stating that electricity generated from clean energy sources increased by 887 terawatt-hours last year, Alparslan said, "This has demonstrated that the role of renewable energy in meeting global electricity demand is steadily strengthening."
Emphasizing that the role of renewable energy is expanding, Alparslan conveyed that these sources are no longer just replacing fossil fuels, but also playing a significant role in meeting new electricity demand.
Pointing out that in the same period, electricity generation from solar energy increased by 636 terawatt-hours and from wind power plants by 205 terawatt-hours, Alparslan said, "In the coming period, the transition from fossil sources to renewable energy will be completed not only through the increase in the production capacity of solar and wind power plants, but also through the electrification of fossil-fuel energy consumption in industry, transportation, and buildings."
Alparslan assessed, "Renewable energy has become one of the primary sources meeting new electricity demand driven by areas such as industrialization, electric transportation, air conditioning, and data centers."
Indicating that electricity demand will increase further with the acceleration of electrification in sectors such as transportation, buildings, and industry, Alparslan noted, "In recent years, record capacity installations have taken place in wind and solar. These records in wind and solar energy will need to be pushed even higher to meet the growing electricity needs of the future."
The share of solar and wind is growing
According to Ember country reports, China ranks among the countries where electricity demand is increasing the fastest. Along with this increase, renewable energy is increasingly coming to the fore in meeting the country's additional electricity needs. Last year, 42 percent of electricity generation in China was provided by clean energy sources. The share of wind and solar energy in total electricity generation reached 22 percent. Meanwhile, electricity generation from fossil fuels declined by 56 terawatt-hours.
India was also among the countries that increased their renewable energy generation. While electricity demand in the country rose by 49 terawatt-hours last year, electricity generation from renewable sources increased by 98 terawatt-hours. Of this growth, 53 terawatt-hours came from solar, 22 terawatt-hours from wind, and the rest from hydroelectric sources. While India experienced a record increase in solar electricity generation capacity last year, electricity generation from coal power plants dropped by 44 terawatt-hours over the same period.
In Brazil, while electricity demand grew by only 5 terawatt-hours last year, electricity generation from solar energy rose by 17 terawatt-hours and from wind by 9 terawatt-hours. In Brazil, the total share of solar and wind in electricity generation rose to 27 percent, while all renewable sources combined accounted for 87 percent of electricity generation.
In the US, electricity demand continues to rise, particularly due to increases in industry and data centers. Investments in solar and wind power plants are meeting a significant portion of this new demand. While the US electricity demand increased by 131 terawatt-hours last year, electricity generation from solar rose by 85 terawatt-hours and from wind by approximately 13 terawatt-hours. Thus, solar and wind power plants met approximately 74 percent of the new electricity demand.
Turkey is also increasing the share of renewable energy sources in its energy production day by day. According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Turkey is among the countries rapidly increasing its solar and wind energy capacity. In August, the share of renewable energy sources in total electricity generation exceeded 60 percent.
