It’s finally happened — renewable energy just overtook coal as the world’s main source of electricity as solar growth hits ‘the largest ever observed for any source’
- Renewables now account for more of the world’s electricity than coal
- They represent 33.8% of electricity generation compared to 33% for coal
- Solar is a key driver here, as it met 75% of the growth in global electricity demand
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Renewable energy became the main source of electricity for the world over the course of 2025, finally overtaking coal in this respect, according to a new study.
A report from CarbonBrief carried the revelation made by a think tank called Ember. Based on Ember’s calculations in its latest global electricity review, coal-fueled electricity generation dropped by 0.2% last year to 33%, while renewables maintained a steady upward trajectory to edge past coal, hitting 33.8%.
Wind and solar power catered for 99% of the growth in electricity demand last year (solar represented the majority of that – 75% of it, in fact). The International Energy Agency separately said in its Global Energy Review 2026 report that “the absolute increase of solar PV generation in 2025 is the largest ever observed for any source”.
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In the past, we have seen the share of fossil fuel generation drop year-on-year, but that was driven by economic crises or the pandemic, whereas this is the first time a move to clean power has caused coal usage to drop.
Apparently, record solar generation, with a 30% year-on-year increase, was the key factor driving renewable energy to take the top spot from coal. Note that this is coal power alone, which is being compared to renewables for electricity generation (as opposed to including other fossil fuels, such as gas, which are considered separately).
Analysis: EV and solar highlights – and the looming threat on the horizon
Clearly, this is good news, and Ember’s report makes an interesting point about electric vehicles (EVs) being a “structural driver of electricity demand growth”, accounting for some 8% of the rise in global electricity demand last year.
EVs totaled 66TWh of growth last year compared to 36TWh in 2024, so that’s a large jump, with EV sales now comprising over 25% of the car market across the globe, the thinktank notes.
With the rising cost of fuel, I wouldn’t bet against seeing bigger leaps, and a recent report in the UK pointed to EVs experiencing year-on-year growth in sales of 24.2% in March (where diesel and petrol vehicles were down by 6.1% and 11.4% respectively).
EVs aside, solar is singled out as the key driver of renewables by Ember: “The accelerating build-out of solar power is increasingly taking place alongside battery storage deployment, enabling the next paradigm shift – from daytime solar to anytime solar.”
As battery costs have fallen ‘sharply’ over the past two years – by 20% in 2024, and 45% last year, we’re told – deployment was up 46%, and the “world installed enough battery capacity to shift 14% of the new solar generation in 2025 from midday to other hours of the day.”
The strides forward made with solar don’t just apply to traditional large-panel arrays, but increasingly to gadgets that harness power from the sun. Such as this solar-powered Windows 11 laptop, or a smart lock with a mini solar panel, which was showcased a few months back at CES 2026. Solar-driven home security cameras are becoming much more commonplace, too, offering key advantages in terms of ditching wiring.
These are very small increments of solar usage, true, but they all add up on top of the progress that’s clearly being made in this arena.
The potential blot on the landscape amid this positive renewables news is the threat posed by AI-driven data center construction – and the power demands therein – and how they’ll be met. This is a danger that’s being taken seriously, and over in the US, a recent development is that Maine has even passed new laws effectively banning the construction of sprawling data centers in certain areas.
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