Solar surge halts fossil electricity growth worldwide in 2025

Clean power met all demand growth in 2025, keeping fossil generation flat
Solar alone met three-quarters of the increase in electricity demand, while solar plus wind met almost all of it
Renewables overtook coal for the first time in modern era

London, 21 April 2026 – The rise of clean electricity reached a new turning point in 2025 as clean power sources met all growth in global electricity demand, preventing an increase in fossil generation, according to a new report by global energy think tank Ember.

Record solar growth was the main driver. Global solar generation rose by 636 TWh in 2025, a 30% increase on output in the previous year. Despite much larger absolute additions, this was the fastest percentage growth in eight years. Since 2015, solar output has grown more than tenfold, roughly doubling every three years. Global solar generation is now the same size as the total electricity demand of the EU-27. China led the global solar surge, accounting for more than half of the increase in both solar capacity and solar generation in 2025.

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Together with growth in other clean sources, this solar surge drove clean power to meet all global electricity demand growth in 2025. Solar alone met three-quarters (75%) of the increase, while solar and wind together met almost all of it (99%). In total, clean generation rose by 887 TWh, slightly exceeding demand growth of 849 TWh. As a result, fossil generation fell by 0.2%, making 2025 only the fifth year this century without growth in fossil electricity.

“We have firmly entered the era of clean growth,” said Aditya Lolla, Ember’s managing director. “Clean energy is now scaling fast enough to absorb rising global electricity demand, keeping fossil generation flat before its inevitable decline. The momentum we are seeing is no longer just an ambition, it is becoming a structural reality.”

Ember’s seventh annual Global Electricity Review provides the first comprehensive overview of the global power system in 2025 based on country-level data. It is published today alongside the world’s first open dataset on electricity generation in 2025, which covers historical data for 215 countries, including the latest 2025 data for 91 countries representing 93% of global electricity demand.

Fossil declines in China and India result in renewables surpassing coal power worldwide

The analysis finds that the global shift from a fossil-based power system towards one increasingly based on clean electricity was driven largely by developments in China and India, the largest contributors to the global rise in fossil power for at least the last two decades. In both countries, record clean power additions outpaced demand growth, leading to a decline in fossil generation in 2025.

In China, fossil generation fell by 56 TWh as rapid clean power expansion met all demand growth. In India, fossil generation fell by 52 TWh, supported by record increases in solar and wind generation, strong hydro output and slower demand growth.

This is the first time this century that fossil generation fell in both China and India. Together, these shifts tipped the global balance. Renewables reached 34% of global electricity generation in 2025, overtaking coal’s 33% share for the first time in 100 years. Coal generation fell by 63 TWh globally, its first decline since 2020 and the first time coal dropped below a third of global generation.

Batteries unlock the next wave of solar growth, boosting energy security with abundant clean power

As solar power surges, a wave of battery deployment is helping turn daytime generation into round-the-clock supply. Enough battery capacity was installed in 2025 to shift 14% of the solar generation added that year from midday to other hours of the day. Early leaders such as Chile and Australia are already installing enough grid-scale batteries to shift large shares of solar generation beyond daylight hours, demonstrating how storage helps address system flexibility needs and unlocks higher shares of solar power in the electricity mix.

“Solar has been the dominant driver of change in the global power system,” added Mr Lolla. “Along with battery storage, it is opening a path to fast-scaling, round-the-clock clean power.”

Cheap and abundant clean electricity, led by solar, is reshaping the entire energy economy through electrification. Growth in clean power can support other sectors such as transport in reducing their reliance on imported fossil fuels, enabling a future less dependent on costly energy imports.

“Clean energy is rapidly redefining the foundation of energy security in a volatile world,” concluded Mr Lolla. “It is already helping countries reduce exposure to fossil fuel imports and costs while meeting rising electricity demand. The next step is to modernise grids and regulatory frameworks so power systems are ready to handle this new reality.”

China’s rapid expansion of solar and wind is meeting rising electricity demand at home while influencing the global electricity transition. As the world’s largest builder of clean power, China’s progress is showing how growing demand can increasingly be met with clean electricity rather than fossil fuels.

Professor Xunpeng Shi
‍President of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS)

Solar PV is the cheapest way to produce electricity in most of the world, and rapidly falling battery costs have made solar and batteries an economic way to provide round-the-clock electricity in many countries. Already, solar and wind account for almost all growth in global electricity supply, and future growth will drive down fossil fuel generation. This is an unstoppable revolution driven by fundamentally superior technologies.

Adair Turner
‍Co-Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission

About Ember

Ember is an independent energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy. It creates targeted data insights to advance policies that urgently shift the world to a clean, electrified energy future.

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