Cape Verde
CPVCape Verde is among the world's biggest wind and solar producers and still burns fossil fuels for most of its power.
31% of its electricity is wind and solar; 69% is still fossil. Both are true at once, and that tension is the whole story of the transition.
What this grid depends on
Three measures that say more about a country than how much power it makes. Open “what this means” on any of them if the term is new.
Cleaner than 5 in 10 grids worldwide.
What this means
How much planet-warming gas is released to make one unit of electricity. Two countries can generate exactly the same amount and one of them be ten times dirtier doing it. Lower is better.
Cape Verde generates almost exactly what it uses, with next to nothing crossing its borders.
What this means
Electricity can be sold across a border like anything else, through high-voltage lines connecting one country's grid to the next. Buying it in means leaning on a neighbour to keep the lights on. Selling it means generating more than the country needs.
Also true of Cape Verde
Cape Verde's electricity is about as carbon-heavy as the world's.
462 grams of CO2e a kilowatt-hour, against a world figure of 458.
Cape Verde has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
Low-carbon electricity went from 18% to 31% in 5 years.
Figures are for 2024, the most recent year reported for Cape Verde. Generation shares are a percentage of electricity generated, not of energy used. How this is calculated.