Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025

In the first half of 2025, global solar and wind generation grew sufficiently to exceed total electricity demand growth, leading to renewables overtaking coal's share of the global electricity mix for the first time on record. While China and India saw declines in fossil fuel generation and emissions, the US and EU experienced increases due to demand growth outpacing clean energy in the US and unfavorable weather affecting wind and hydro in the EU.

• Solar and wind generation growth exceeded the 2.6% (+369 TWh) increase in global electricity demand during the first half of 2025. Solar alone accounted for 83% of this demand rise, with its global share of the electricity mix increasing from 6.9% to 8.8%.
• For the first time on record, renewables overtook coal in the global electricity mix in the first half of 2025. Renewables' share rose to 34.3% (5,072 TWh), while coal's share fell to 33.1% (4,896 TWh).
• Global power sector CO2 emissions plateaued, falling marginally by 12 MtCO2 (-0.2%) to 6,963 MtCO2 in the first half of 2025. This decline was driven by emissions reductions in China (-46 MtCO2) and India (-24 MtCO2), which offset increases in the US (+33 MtCO2) and the EU (+13 MtCO2).
• China was the primary driver of clean energy growth, contributing 55% of global solar generation growth (168 TWh) and 82% of global wind generation growth (79 TWh). This allowed China to meet all its demand growth with clean electricity, reducing coal generation by 56 TWh (-2%).
• In the United States, clean energy growth did not keep pace with a 76 TWh (+3.6%) increase in electricity demand, meeting only 65% of the rise. This led to a 51 TWh (+17%) increase in coal generation, partly due to a gas-to-coal switch driven by higher gas prices.
• The European Union saw a 24% increase in solar generation, but this was offset by significant declines in wind (-21 TWh, -8.5%) and hydro (-33 TWh, -17%) due to poor weather and droughts. Consequently, gas-fired generation increased by 25 TWh (+14%).
• India experienced its lowest absolute demand growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising by only 12 TWh (+1.3%) due to milder weather and fewer heatwaves. Despite this, solar and wind grew at record paces, with solar rising by 17 TWh (+25%) and wind by 11 TWh (+29%).

APA

Wiatros-Motyka, M., & Rangelova, K. (2025). Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2025-PDF.pdf

Chicago

Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata, and Kostantsa Rangelova. Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2025-PDF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wiatros-Motyka |first1=Małgorzata |last2=Rangelova |first2=Kostantsa |title=Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025 |publisher=Ember |date=7 October 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2025-PDF.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wiatrosmotyka2025global, author = {Wiatros-Motyka, Małgorzata and Rangelova, Kostantsa}, title = {{Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Global-Electricity-Mid-Year-Insights-2025-PDF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }