The Energy Transition in 2025: What to Watch For

This briefing by RMI analyzes the state of the global energy transition entering 2025, highlighting record growth in cleantech and falling costs despite ongoing challenges in methane reduction and energy efficiency.

• Clean technology costs declined significantly in 2024, with solar module prices dropping 35 percent to less than 9 cents/kWh. EV battery costs fell to below $100/kWh, with full battery prices decreasing by 20 percent and cathode prices dropping between 30 and 50 percent.
• Renewable energy and electrification saw record growth in 2024. Solar additions reached approximately 600 GW, wind additions were approximately 125 GW, and grid storage installations nearly doubled to approximately 170 GWh. EV sales grew by 25 percent, totaling over 16 million vehicles sold.
• Renewables are projected to overtake coal as the primary power source in 2025. Investment in renewables now exceeds fossil electricity investment by a ratio of 10 to 1, and investment in solar alone is greater than all other power sources combined.
• While cleantech is advancing, energy efficiency and methane reduction are lagging. The rate of primary energy intensity improvement decreased from approximately 2 percent in 2022 to 1 percent in 2023. Methane pollution levels are currently rising twice as fast as predicted.
• National climate commitments are expanding, with all G20 nations now having net-zero goals. Specific actions include Ethiopia banning non-electric car imports and Indonesia planning to switch fully to renewables within 15 years by retiring all coal, oil, and gas power plants.

APA

RMI (2025). The Energy Transition in 2025: What to Watch For. https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-transition-in-2025-what-to-watch-for/

Chicago

RMI. The Energy Transition in 2025: What to Watch For. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-transition-in-2025-what-to-watch-for/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Energy Transition in 2025: What to Watch For |date=8 January 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-transition-in-2025-what-to-watch-for/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025energy, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Energy Transition in 2025: What to Watch For}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-transition-in-2025-what-to-watch-for/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }