2025 in Review

In 2025, record solar and wind growth met 99% of global electricity demand increases, causing fossil fuel generation to decline for the first time since 2020. Renewables surpassed coal as a share of global electricity generation for the first time in a century, reaching 33.8%.

• In 2025, clean electricity sources grew faster than global electricity demand, leading to a small decline in fossil fuel generation. Solar power was the primary driver, meeting 75% of the 849 TWh increase in global demand.
• Renewables surpassed coal power as a share of global electricity generation for the first time in 100 years. In 2025, renewables accounted for 33.8% (10,730 TWh) of generation, while coal fell to 33.0% (10,476 TWh).
• Solar power experienced record growth in 2025, increasing by 636 TWh (+30%) to reach a total of 2,778 TWh. This growth was supported by a record 647 GW of new capacity installations, an 11% increase over 2024.
• China and India both saw declines in fossil fuel generation in 2025, the first time this has occurred simultaneously in both countries this century. China's fossil generation fell by 56 TWh (-0.9%) and India's fell by 52 TWh (-3.3%).
• China continues to lead global clean energy deployment, accounting for 58% of global solar installations (378 GW(DC)) and 72% of global wind deployment (119 GW) in 2025.
• Global power sector emissions intensity decreased by 2.7% in 2025 to 458 gCO2e per kilowatt hour, compared to 471 gCO2e in 2024. This represents a 16% decline since 2005.
• Wind power grew by 205 TWh (+8.2%) in 2025. Combined, wind and solar growth of 841 TWh met 99% of the global increase in electricity demand.

APA

Ember (2026). 2025 in Review. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/2025-in-review/

Chicago

Ember. 2025 in Review. 2026. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/2025-in-review/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=2025 in Review |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/2025-in-review/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember20262025, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{2025 in Review}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/2025-in-review/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }