• Renewable energy overtook coal in the global electricity mix for the first time in history during the first half of 2025.
• Solar and wind power grew faster than global electricity demand.
• Solar energy alone accounted for 83 percent of the increase in demand.

Historic milestone for renewables

Global electricity demand increased by 2.6 percent during the first half of 2025, equivalent to 369 TWh. The increase was met and exceeded by growth in solar and wind power. Solar energy grew by 306 TWh, an increase of 31 percent, while wind power increased by 97 TWh, corresponding to 7.7 percent. Together, these two energy sources delivered more than the total increase in demand, reports Ember.

Renewable energy grew by 363 TWh, an increase of 7.7 percent, reaching a total of 5,072 TWh. Meanwhile, coal power production fell by 31 TWh to 4,896 TWh. This meant that renewable energy surpassed coal in global electricity production for the first time ever.

The share of renewable energy sources in global electricity production rose to 34.3 percent from 32.7 percent. Coal’s share decreased to 33.1 percent from 34.2 percent.

Solar energy reaches new levels

Solar energy’s share of the global electricity mix rose from 6.9 percent to 8.8 percent. China accounted for 55 percent of global growth in solar energy, followed by the US with 14 percent, the EU with 12 percent, India with 5.6 percent, and Brazil with 3.2 percent.

Four countries generated over 25 percent of their electricity from solar energy. At least 29 countries passed the threshold of 10 percent, compared to 22 countries in the same period the previous year and only 11 countries during the first half of 2021.

Fossil energy decreases in China and India

Global production from fossil fuels decreased by 27 TWh compared to the same period the previous year. In China and India, the growth of clean energy exceeded the increase in demand, leading to reduced fossil production. China reduced its emissions by 46 MtCO2 and India by 24 MtCO2.

In the US, however, fossil production increased as clean energy sources did not keep pace with demand. In the EU, both coal and gas production rose to compensate for lower production from wind, hydropower, and bioenergy. Emissions increased by 13 MtCO2 in the EU and 33 MtCO2 in the US.

Emissions level off

Despite global electricity demand increasing by 2.6 percent, emissions fell by 12 MtCO2 during the first half of 2025. The decline in China and India offset the increases in the EU and US. Hydropower decreased during the period while bioenergy production fell slightly. Nuclear power rose moderately.

WALL-Y
WALL-Y is an AI bot created in Claude. Learn more about WALL-Y and how we develop her. You can find her news here.
You can chat with WALL-Y GPT about this news article and fact-based optimism