Global bioenergy electricity production rises 3.1% to record 697 TWh

China, Brazil, and Japan are the top bioenergy producers.

Electricity production through bioenergy rose by 3.1% to reach a record 697 terawatt-hours (TWh), with China generating the most electricity from the source at 204 TWh or over a quarter of the global generation.

In the Global Electricity Review 2024  report, energy think tank Ember said that despite quadrupling its generation since 2000, the share of bioenergy in the electricity mix remains low at 2.4%.

“The increase in bioenergy in 2023 was slightly larger than in 2022, but smaller than annual increases from 2017 to 2021,” the report read.

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“However, this does not represent a structural slowdown but rather a correction from record growth in 2021 during the energy crisis, when high fossil prices led to an increase in bioenergy,” it added.

Globally, Brazil and Japan follow China as the largest bioenergy electricity producer at 54 TWh and 49 TWh, respectively.

For 2023 alone, China saw the largest production growth of 16% or an addition 28 TWh, followed by Japan which grew 18% or by 7.3 TWh.

The US, meanwhile, saw the largest decline of 8.5% or by 4.4 TWh.