Renewable Energy Surpasses Coal to Meet Most of World's Electricity Demand

For the first time in history, renewable energy surpassed coal as the primary source of electricity generation worldwide in early 2025. New data from the global energy think tank Ember revealed that the rapid rise of solar and wind outpaced demand growth and helped edge fossil fuels back.

While electricity demand continued to rise globally, the surge in renewables, especially in developing nations, meant nearly all the new demand was met with clean power.

This resulted in a slight decrease in coal and gas consumption for electricity generation during the same period.

Why Did Renewables Overtake Coal in 2025?

A historic shift in the energy sector unfolded as solar and wind capacity soared, outstripping annual growth in global electricity demand. According to Ember, new solar and wind installations alone met 100 percent of extra demand worldwide, positioning renewables ahead of coal for the first time.

Declining technology costs and exemplary policy momentum in key markets drove this turn. The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that despite persistent electricity growth, the addition of renewable sources globally was robust enough to halt and slightly reduce fossil fuel reliance.

While some regions still leaned on traditional coal-fired plants, much of the incremental need around the world found solutions in cleaner, greener options.

Did you know?
A single modern, on-land wind turbine can generate enough electricity to power around 1,400 to 1,500 average homes for a year.

How Did China and Developing Countries Lead the Surge?

China emerged as the world’s clean energy powerhouse, installing more solar and wind capacity than all other countries combined. Its new installations far outpaced rising electricity requirements, allowing its fossil fuel output to fall by 2 percent.

Ember’s analysis credits China’s leadership with shaping the global clean energy curve to a remarkable degree in 2025.

Elsewhere, India made notable gains, adding substantial solar and wind projects that enabled it to reduce its reliance on both coal and gas for the first time in recent years.

These advances were mirrored in several lower-income countries, where rapid adoption of affordable solar technologies transformed energy access and reliability for millions.

What Are the Contrasts Between Developed and Developing Regions?

Divergence marked the latest energy shift. The United States and the European Union both experienced a faster growth in electricity demand than in clean energy supply, resulting in increased coal and gas use and a pause in their progress toward clean energy.

Policy uncertainty, adverse weather, and sluggish new projects hindered the growth of renewables in more prosperous nations.

Meanwhile, developing economies saw explosive growth in solar generation, often doubling or tripling installations year over year.

Many of these countries now generated the majority of new electricity from renewable sources, while affluent regions contended with infrastructure bottlenecks and unpredictable resource availability.

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How Is the Solar Boom Reshaping Global Energy?

Solar power continued its meteoric rise, accounting for 83 percent of the growth in new electricity supply. Lower-income countries were at the forefront, now responsible for more than half of all solar generation.

Dramatic cost reductions enabled markets to pivot swiftly; solar capacity in Pakistan doubled in a single year, while imports surged across Africa, led by South Africa and Nigeria.

The affordability of solar energy, combined with the high costs and unreliability of traditional grid electricity, enabled accelerated adoption across emerging markets.

For instance, panel imports in Africa surged, and countries like Algeria and Zambia expanded capacity many times over in just twelve months, underscoring the speed of global energy transition.

What Obstacles and Surprises Are Emerging in the Energy Transition?

Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy, regional disparities and new challenges have emerged. Wind belt nations, such as the UK, faced high project financing costs and struggled with prolonged wind droughts, which made backup generation essential and expensive.

In some regions, a mismatch between storage and renewable outputs complicates grid management.

Unexpected difficulties also arose in places like Afghanistan, where the widespread adoption of solar-powered water pumps led to declining groundwater levels and new ecological concerns.

These stories illustrate that the expanded use of renewable energy creates both opportunities and new risks, requiring nimble policy responses and infrastructure investments worldwide.

As 2025 unfolded, it became clear that the future of electricity production now leans towards renewables.

Continued investment, innovation, and careful policy are necessary to build on this milestone, creating resilient and clean energy systems that support a growing global population.