Global Electricity Review 2026

In 2025, global electricity demand grew by 2.8% (849 TWh), all of which was met by low-carbon power generation, leading to a 0.2% decline in fossil fuel generation. Solar power was the primary driver, increasing by a record 636 TWh (30%) and meeting 75% of the net demand increase. For the first time in the modern era, renewables (33.8%) overtook coal (33.0%) in the global electricity mix. This shift was led by China and India, both of which saw declines in fossil generation in 2025. Additionally, battery storage is scaling rapidly, with costs falling 45% in 2025, enabling the shift of daytime solar generation to other hours.

• Clean power sources grew sufficiently to meet all global electricity demand growth in 2025, resulting in the first year since 2020 where fossil generation did not increase, recording a small decline of 38 TWh (-0.2%).
• Solar power experienced record growth in 2025, increasing by 636 TWh (30%) to reach 2,778 TWh. This growth met 75% of the global increase in electricity demand and was 18 times larger than the increase in gas generation.
• Renewables surpassed coal power in the global electricity mix for the first time in 100 years, with renewables accounting for 33.8% (10,730 TWh) and coal falling below a third of global generation to 33.0% (10,476 TWh).
• China and India both recorded declines in fossil generation in 2025, a historic reversal. China's fossil generation fell by 56 TWh (-0.9%), its first decline since 2015, while India's fell by 52 TWh (-3.3%).
• Battery storage is enabling a shift from daytime to anytime solar. Battery pack prices for stationary storage fell 45% in 2025 to a record low of USD 70/kWh, and global capacity additions grew 46% to an estimated 250 GWh.
• Global electricity demand grew by 2.8% (849 TWh) in 2025, which is broadly in line with the ten-year average of 2.7%. China accounted for 59% of this global net increase, adding 503 TWh (+5.0%).
• The emissions intensity of global electricity generation declined by 2.7% in 2025 to 458 gCO2e/kWh, the largest annual percentage decline in two decades.
• In the European Union, wind and solar generation exceeded fossil generation for the first time in 2025, reaching 30% of total power generation.
• The United States saw a rise in coal generation of 85 TWh (+13%) in 2025, driven by a switch from gas due to higher gas prices, which caused US power sector emissions to rise by 3.1%.

APA

Fulghum, N., Suarez, W., Altieri, K., & Rangelova, K. (2026). Global Electricity Review 2026. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/04/Global-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf

Chicago

Fulghum, Nicolas, Wilmar Suarez, Katye Altieri, and Kostantsa Rangelova. Global Electricity Review 2026. Ember, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/04/Global-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fulghum |first1=Nicolas |last2=Suarez |first2=Wilmar |last3=Altieri |first3=Katye |last4=Rangelova |first4=Kostantsa |title=Global Electricity Review 2026 |publisher=Ember |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/04/Global-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fulghum2026global, author = {Fulghum, Nicolas and Suarez, Wilmar and Altieri, Katye and Rangelova, Kostantsa}, title = {{Global Electricity Review 2026}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/04/Global-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }