Electricity demand and supply trends

In 2025, global electricity generation saw a significant shift toward low-carbon sources, with solar and wind reaching a combined 17.3% share of total generation. Solar was the fastest-growing source, adding 636 TWh and meeting 75% of global demand growth. Conversely, coal's share of global electricity fell below one-third for the first time on record to 33.0%, and renewable generation exceeded coal generation for the first time. Low-carbon sources (including nuclear) reached 42.6% of total generation, while the emissions intensity of electricity dropped by 2.7% in 2025, the largest annual decline in two decades.

• Solar power experienced record growth in 2025, adding 636 TWh of generation and meeting 75% of global electricity demand growth. This increase was 18 times larger than that of gas and the largest for any electricity source since coal's 2021 rebound.
• For the first time on record, global renewable generation (10,730 TWh) exceeded coal generation (10,476 TWh) in 2025. Coal's share of the global electricity mix fell to 33.0%, dropping below one-third for the first time.
• Low-carbon sources, comprising wind, solar, and nuclear, reached 42.6% of total global electricity generation in 2025, an increase from 33.5% in 2015. Wind and solar alone accounted for 17.3% of total generation.
• The emissions intensity of global electricity declined by 2.7% in 2025, marking the largest annual percentage drop in twenty years. Over the last decade, intensity fell from 533 gCO2e/kWh in 2015 to 458 gCO2e/kWh in 2025.
• China dominated the growth of clean energy in 2025, accounting for more than half of the global rise in solar generation and 68% of the global increase in wind generation.
• Global nuclear generation reached an all-time high of 2,812 TWh in 2025, though its share of the global electricity mix fell to a low of 8.9% as demand grew faster than supply.
• Hydropower reached a record absolute output of 4,437 TWh in 2025, but its share of global electricity generation fell to an all-time low of 14% due to rising overall demand.

APA

Ember (2026). Electricity demand and supply trends. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-demand-and-supply-trends/

Chicago

Ember. Electricity demand and supply trends. 2026. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-demand-and-supply-trends/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Electricity demand and supply trends |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-demand-and-supply-trends/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2026electricity, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Electricity demand and supply trends}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/electricity-demand-and-supply-trends/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }