Renewable energy has surpassed coal for the first time: analysts’ data
21 April 15:42
In 2025, renewable energy sources became the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time, surpassing coal. These figures come from the Ember analysis center, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“The share of global electricity demand met by solar power in 2025 was 75%. The share of renewable energy sources in global electricity generation in 2025 was 33.8%—exceeding one-third for the first time and surpassing coal,” the analysts’ report states.
The change in electricity production from fossil fuels compared to the previous year was a decrease of 0.2%.
Thus, according to analysts, solar and wind energy drove the main growth in global electricity demand.
“This has happened before, but always due to crises or one-off events. This time, however, the decline resulted from a structural shift toward clean energy,” the analysts note.
According to Ember, solar power generation increased by a record 636 terawatt-hours (TWh) over the year. This is twice the annual electricity consumption of the United Kingdom.
This is the largest annual increase among all electricity sources in history (excluding the post-COVID rebound in coal in 2021).
“Solar generation has been growing faster than all other sources for the fourth consecutive year. Solar capacity increased by a record 647 GW—meaning the sun will continue to dominate in the coming years,” analysts note.
The record growth in solar power meant that energy production from clean sources grew fast enough to meet all new electricity demand in 2025, thereby preventing an increase in electricity production from fossil fuels.
This was the first year since 2020 in which there was no growth in electricity generation from fossil fuels, and only the fifth year without such growth this century, the study states.
China and India, which have historically contributed the most to global growth in fossil fuel-based electricity generation, recorded a decline in fossil fuel-based electricity generation in 2025.
In these countries, a record increase in clean energy capacity outpaced demand growth. This halted global net growth in fossil fuel-based electricity generation.
Solar power cemented its role as the dominant driver of change in the global energy sector, and its record growth accounted for three-quarters of the net growth in electricity demand in 2025.
The growth of solar energy was 18 times greater than the growth in gas use—the only type of fossil fuel whose use increased in 2025.
Global solar power generation now equals total electricity demand in the EU.
“The global energy system is under increasing strain. Recent years—or more precisely, recent months—have highlighted the inherent vulnerabilities of a system built on fossil fuels: susceptibility to price volatility, geopolitical risks, and supply disruptions,” the think tank’s report states.
Ember analysts emphasize that these challenges are not temporary—they reflect structural features of the system’s current functioning.
“The Global Power Review” shows that an alternative is not only emerging but is also gaining momentum rapidly, with clean energy meeting the entire increase in global electricity demand.
Solar power has become the leading source of new generation, backed by batteries that are beginning to provide system flexibility on a large scale.
In major economies, particularly China and India, electricity generation from fossil fuels declined last year, even as demand continued to grow.
