Renewables hit 34% of global power in 2025

Ember said on April 21 that renewables supplied 33.8% of global electricity in 2025, edging past coal’s 33% share and crossing one-third of generation for the first time. The energy think tank said solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources together overtook coal in what it described as the first such shift in the modern power system. Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026 said fossil generation fell 0.2% from a year earlier even as electricity demand kept rising. The report drew on 2025 data for 91 countries representing 93% of global electricity demand. ### How did renewables move ahead even as power demand kept growing? Ember said global electricity demand rose by 849 terawatt-hours in 2025, and clean generation increased by 887 terawatt-hours. That meant clean power covered all demand growth and left fossil generation broadly flat to lower on the year, according to the report. Ember said solar alone met 75% of the increase in electricity demand, while solar and wind together met 99% of it. (ember-energy.org) The 33.8% figure matters because it puts renewables just ahead of coal’s 33% share in 2025. Bloomberg, citing Ember’s report, said this was the first time since 1919 that coal’s share was lower than renewables’ share, though Ember’s own release framed it as the first time in the modern power system. (ember-energy.org) ### Why was solar the main driver? Ember said solar was the largest source of new electricity generation in 2025. The group said record solar growth, alongside gains in other clean sources, was enough to halt a rise in fossil electricity generation worldwide. China was the biggest contributor to that increase. (bloomberg.com) Ember said China accounted for more than half of the rise in both solar capacity and solar generation in 2025. In its country analysis, Ember also said India’s solar generation reached 9.4% of total electricity demand in 2025 and that India became the world’s fourth-largest clean electricity generator after overtaking France and Canada. (ember-energy.org) ### Where does the $2.2 trillion figure come from? The International Energy Agency said in its World Energy Investment 2025 report that total energy-sector investment was set to reach $3.3 trillion in 2025. Of that, about $2.2 trillion was projected to go to renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification. The IEA said that was roughly double the $1.1 trillion going to oil, natural gas and coal. (ember-energy.org) The IEA said 2025 clean-energy spending was being supported by energy security, industrial policy, cost competitiveness and electrification, not only by climate policy. The agency said China, Europe, India and the United States were among the main drivers of the increase in clean-energy investment. ### Did India really add more new solar than the United States? (iea.org) Ember’s country and summary pages available in search results support rapid solar growth in India in 2025, but the specific comparison that India installed more new solar capacity than the United States in full-year 2025 was not clearly stated in the source passages I could verify directly. Ember’s India page says solar was India’s largest source of clean electricity in 2025, and separate Ember materials describe a broader pickup in Indian solar spending and deployment. (iea.org) Because that specific India-versus-United States installation claim was not confirmed in the accessible source text I reviewed, it should be treated as unverified here. The verified record is that Ember published the global generation milestone on April 21, 2026, and the IEA separately published the 2025 investment estimate showing $2.2 trillion flowing to clean energy. (ember-energy.org 1) (ember-energy.org 2)