The latest IEA Monthly Electricity Statistics report, which includes July 2023 data, shows that combined total electricity production of all OECD members amounted to 980.6 TWh in July 2023, marginally down by 0.9% compared to July 2022.
Electricity production from fossil fuels totalled 523.0 TWh in July 2023, down by 4.3% or 23.5 TWh compared to July 2022. This decrease was mainly driven by a sharp decline in electricity output from coal (-12.6% y-o-y), while natural gas remained relatively unchanged compared to previous year’s levels (+0.2% y-o-y). Although lower electricity generation from coal was registered in all OECD regions, the most significant drop was observed in OECD Europe (-30.2% y-o-y). Overall, the share of fossil fuels in the OECD electricity mix settled at 53.3%, approximately two percentage points lower than in July 2022.
Total electricity production from renewable sources grew by 2.2% y-o-y reaching 304.8 TWh in July 2023, with solar power confirming its strong momentum (+15.8% y-o-y), followed by wind power (+6.0% y-o-y). These two renewable technologies offset reduced output from hydropower (-4.8% y-o-y), mainly due to significantly lower hydropower generation in the OECD Americas (-13.9% y-o-y). Renewables accounted for 31.1% of total OECD electricity production, up by one percentage point compared to July 2022.
Nuclear electricity production totalled 150.1 TWh in July 2023, marking a 5.6% increase, 7.8 TWh, year-on-year, with higher generation figures being reported in all OECD regions. The share of nuclear power in the OECD electricity mix settled at 15.3%, one percentage point higher than in July 2022.
The main exception to the general trend was China, where total net electricity production was high at 855.6 TWh in July 2023, up by 5.2%, equivalent to 42.3 TWh, compared to the same month last year. This increase was mainly attributed to the country’s suffering a severe heatwave, which drove electricity consumption to record high levels. The additional electricity generation was almost entirely provided by fossil fuels (+7.9% y-o-y or 40.6 TWh), largely driven by coal. Renewables, on the other hand, remained stable (+0.2% y-o-y), as strong wind (+34.5% y-o-y) and solar power (+22.8% y-o-y) compensated for significantly lower hydropower generation (-17.2% y-o-y).
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