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6% of global electricity is generated from Solar

6.27 % Share of global electricity
45 gCO2eq/kWh Carbon Intensity

Solar energy is harnessed by capturing sunlight and converting it into electrical power. This form of energy relies on solar panels, which are comprised of photovoltaic cells that directly convert sunlight into electricity. Unlike traditional fossil fuels, solar energy utilizes an abundant and renewable natural resource—the sun—making it a cornerstone of sustainable energy solutions.

The process of generating electricity from solar energy begins with photovoltaic cells in the solar panels. When sunlight hits these cells, it excites electrons and generates an electric current through the photovoltaic effect. This direct current (DC) electricity is then converted into alternating current (AC) through an inverter, making it compatible with the electrical grids and household appliances. This method is clean and efficient, with minimal environmental impact.

One of the largest advantages of solar energy is its low carbon intensity. Solar energy has an average carbon intensity of just 45 g CO2eq/kWh, far better than fossil fuels like coal (820 g CO2eq/kWh) and gas (490 g CO2eq/kWh). Other low-carbon energy sources, such as wind (11 g CO2eq/kWh) and nuclear (12 g CO2eq/kWh), also share similarly low carbon footprints. Together, these clean technologies can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.

Globally, solar energy plays a substantial role in electricity generation, contributing 6.27% of all electricity consumed. Certain countries have made remarkable progress with solar energy integration. For instance, in Australia, solar energy accounts for 19% of the electricity, while in the United Arab Emirates, it makes up 8%. European nations also show promising solar adoption, with the Netherlands and Spain generating 19% and 18% of their electricity from solar, respectively. In Greece, solar energy contributes an impressive 22% to the national electricity mix.

The increasing adoption of solar energy—a significant source of clean energy—adds another layer of urgency in moving away from fossil fuels, which are major contributors to climate change and air pollution. Alongside solar, wind and nuclear energy provide complementary solutions to achieve a sustainable and green energy future. Together, these low-carbon technologies can form the backbone of a resilient and eco-friendly electricity grid on a global scale.

Country/Region Watts / person % TWh
Australia 1836.7 W 18.6% 48.6 TWh
Cook Islands 1356.2 W 50.0% 0.0 TWh
United Arab Emirates 1292.0 W 8.3% 13.8 TWh
Netherlands 1214.0 W 18.6% 22.0 TWh
Greece 1050.7 W 21.9% 10.8 TWh
Spain 963.7 W 17.7% 46.2 TWh
Chile 955.7 W 20.9% 18.8 TWh
Israel 807.4 W 9.7% 7.3 TWh
Japan 785.0 W 10.1% 97.6 TWh
United States 761.0 W 5.9% 261.4 TWh
Germany 743.6 W 13.3% 62.9 TWh
Belgium 696.2 W 9.5% 8.2 TWh
Cyprus 689.9 W 17.4% 0.9 TWh
Estonia 688.5 W 11.8% 0.9 TWh
Bulgaria 679.6 W 12.3% 4.6 TWh
South Korea 665.4 W 6.0% 34.4 TWh
Seychelles 637.3 W 12.9% 0.1 TWh
New Caledonia 626.9 W 6.6% 0.2 TWh
Republic of China (Taiwan) 621.4 W 5.1% 14.5 TWh
Austria 612.9 W 8.3% 5.6 TWh
Denmark 598.3 W 10.5% 3.6 TWh
Hungary 568.1 W 12.3% 5.5 TWh
EU 565.6 W 9.9% 254.9 TWh
Malta 547.4 W 13.8% 0.3 TWh
Guam 544.8 W 5.1% 0.1 TWh
Switzerland 481.6 W 8.1% 4.3 TWh
Lithuania 469.7 W 9.5% 1.3 TWh
People's Republic of China 459.0 W 6.9% 652.9 TWh
Italy 458.5 W 9.5% 27.3 TWh
Portugal 442.7 W 7.6% 4.6 TWh
Luxembourg 435.5 W 6.1% 0.3 TWh
Poland 434.8 W 10.5% 16.9 TWh
Czechia 355.9 W 5.4% 3.8 TWh
France 344.0 W 4.4% 22.9 TWh
Réunion 311.0 W 8.7% 0.3 TWh
Jordan 299.4 W 15.3% 3.4 TWh
Brazil 290.9 W 8.5% 61.4 TWh
Turkey 287.2 W 7.7% 25.1 TWh
South Africa 285.1 W 7.9% 18.0 TWh
Barbados 283.4 W 7.3% 0.1 TWh
Guadeloupe 275.6 W 6.6% 0.1 TWh
Vietnam 273.6 W 9.3% 27.5 TWh
Martinique 254.8 W 6.0% 0.1 TWh
Slovenia 251.4 W 3.7% 0.5 TWh
U.S. Virgin Islands 231.2 W 2.9% 0.0 TWh
The World 226.0 W 6.3% 1828.4 TWh
Canada 220.4 W 1.5% 8.7 TWh
Antigua & Barbuda 215.4 W 5.6% 0.0 TWh
Finland 213.1 W 1.5% 1.2 TWh
American Samoa 206.8 W 5.6% 0.0 TWh
French Guiana 204.8 W 5.9% 0.1 TWh
Singapore 193.5 W 1.9% 1.1 TWh
United Kingdom 191.3 W 4.5% 13.1 TWh
French Polynesia 178.3 W 7.1% 0.1 TWh
El Salvador 175.9 W 14.0% 1.1 TWh
Namibia 173.0 W 13.2% 0.5 TWh
Sweden 172.2 W 1.1% 1.8 TWh
Latvia 170.3 W 4.6% 0.3 TWh
Panama 147.7 W 4.9% 0.7 TWh
Mexico 138.0 W 5.1% 17.9 TWh
Saudi Arabia 129.9 W 1.0% 4.3 TWh
Ukraine 126.7 W 4.6% 5.2 TWh
Mauritius 125.4 W 4.6% 0.2 TWh
Uruguay 115.1 W 2.9% 0.4 TWh
Armenia 114.5 W 3.8% 0.3 TWh
Maldives 114.5 W 7.1% 0.1 TWh
Honduras 113.7 W 9.7% 1.2 TWh
Romania 104.7 W 3.7% 2.0 TWh
Curaçao 104.6 W 2.2% 0.0 TWh
Slovakia 96.1 W 1.7% 0.5 TWh
Tonga 95.2 W 12.5% 0.0 TWh
Samoa 92.9 W 10.5% 0.0 TWh
Aruba 92.8 W 1.0% 0.0 TWh
Malaysia 92.2 W 1.7% 3.2 TWh
Kazakhstan 91.5 W 1.6% 1.9 TWh
India 87.0 W 6.6% 125.2 TWh
Grenada 85.5 W 4.0% 0.0 TWh
Thailand 80.5 W 2.5% 5.8 TWh
Argentina 78.3 W 2.5% 3.6 TWh
Sri Lanka 74.7 W 10.2% 1.7 TWh
Puerto Rico 64.8 W 1.3% 0.2 TWh
Morocco 56.7 W 4.8% 2.1 TWh
Croatia 53.0 W 1.1% 0.2 TWh
New Zealand 52.6 W 0.6% 0.3 TWh
Lebanon 52.2 W 2.9% 0.3 TWh
Dominican Republic 49.9 W 2.6% 0.6 TWh
Jamaica 49.3 W 3.1% 0.1 TWh
Senegal 47.6 W 10.4% 0.8 TWh
Egypt 45.7 W 2.4% 5.2 TWh
Colombia 44.6 W 2.5% 2.3 TWh
Palestinian Territories 39.6 W 2.8% 0.2 TWh
Peru 34.0 W 1.9% 1.1 TWh
Vanuatu 31.9 W 14.3% 0.0 TWh
Bosnia & Herzegovina 28.7 W 0.7% 0.1 TWh
Mauritania 28.7 W 7.4% 0.1 TWh
Bolivia 28.6 W 3.0% 0.4 TWh
Ireland 28.2 W 0.4% 0.1 TWh
Philippines 27.2 W 2.6% 3.1 TWh
Tunisia 26.2 W 1.4% 0.3 TWh
Belize 24.8 W 1.7% 0.0 TWh
Cuba 24.4 W 1.5% 0.3 TWh
Cambodia 22.7 W 3.2% 0.4 TWh
Cape Verde 19.2 W 2.3% 0.0 TWh
Belarus 18.5 W 0.4% 0.2 TWh
Suriname 16.0 W 0.5% 0.0 TWh
Yemen 15.7 W 20.3% 0.6 TWh
Russia 15.0 W 0.2% 2.2 TWh
Algeria 14.5 W 0.7% 0.7 TWh
Albania 14.1 W 0.5% 0.0 TWh
Guatemala 13.4 W 1.8% 0.2 TWh
Guyana 12.2 W 0.9% 0.0 TWh
Hong Kong SAR China 12.1 W 0.2% 0.1 TWh
Fiji 10.9 W 1.0% 0.0 TWh
Kenya 8.7 W 3.5% 0.5 TWh
Malawi 8.3 W 12.6% 0.2 TWh
Laos 7.9 W 0.1% 0.1 TWh
Moldova 7.0 W 0.4% 0.0 TWh
Zambia 6.9 W 0.7% 0.1 TWh
Togo 6.6 W 3.6% 0.1 TWh
Bahrain 6.5 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Azerbaijan 5.8 W 0.2% 0.1 TWh
Burkina Faso 5.3 W 5.2% 0.1 TWh
Bangladesh 4.8 W 0.8% 0.8 TWh
Nepal 4.7 W 1.3% 0.1 TWh
Nicaragua 4.5 W 0.6% 0.0 TWh
Pakistan 4.3 W 0.8% 1.1 TWh
Myanmar (Burma) 4.2 W 1.3% 0.2 TWh
Trinidad & Tobago 4.1 W 0.1% 0.0 TWh
Botswana 4.1 W 0.2% 0.0 TWh
Ghana 3.9 W 0.6% 0.1 TWh
Eritrea 2.9 W 2.6% 0.0 TWh
Uganda 2.7 W 2.4% 0.1 TWh
North Korea 2.7 W 0.3% 0.1 TWh
Indonesia 2.5 W 0.2% 0.7 TWh
Mozambique 2.1 W 0.4% 0.1 TWh
Niger 2.0 W 2.6% 0.1 TWh
Afghanistan 2.0 W 1.2% 0.1 TWh
Zimbabwe 1.9 W 0.3% 0.0 TWh
South Sudan 1.8 W 3.2% 0.0 TWh
Somalia 1.7 W 7.9% 0.0 TWh
Rwanda 1.5 W 2.0% 0.0 TWh
Benin 1.5 W 1.1% 0.0 TWh
Guinea 1.4 W 0.7% 0.0 TWh
Libya 1.4 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Iraq 1.4 W 0.1% 0.1 TWh
Madagascar 1.3 W 1.7% 0.0 TWh
Mali 1.3 W 0.8% 0.0 TWh
Sierra Leone 1.2 W 5.0% 0.0 TWh
Turkmenistan 1.0 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Sudan 0.8 W 0.2% 0.0 TWh
Tanzania 0.8 W 0.5% 0.1 TWh
Burundi 0.8 W 2.2% 0.0 TWh
Cameroon 0.7 W 0.2% 0.0 TWh
Côte d’Ivoire 0.7 W 0.2% 0.0 TWh
Angola 0.6 W 0.1% 0.0 TWh
Norway 0.4 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Venezuela 0.4 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Ethiopia 0.3 W 0.3% 0.0 TWh
Uzbekistan 0.3 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Congo - Kinshasa 0.1 W 0.1% 0.0 TWh
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