Renewables overtake coal as world’s biggest source of electricity

• 16 hours ago (2025-10-07)
• David Flin

Coal 335 Renewables 807 Solar 314 Wind 282

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According to a report from the energy think tank Ember , renewable energy and nuclear energy jointly overtook coal as the world’s leading source of electricity in H1 2025.

Global electricity demand is growing, but the growth in solar and wind was sufficient to meet all the extra demand, even driving a slight decline in coal and gas use.

However, Ember said that the developments were varied across different countries. Developing countries, along with China, led the developments in renewable use while the USA has lagged behind, relying increasingly on fossil fuels.

According to Ember, China dominates clean energy growth, adding more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined. The growth in renewable generation in China outpaced rising electricity demand there, and the country was able to reduce its fossil fuel generation by 2 per cent. India also added significant solar and wind capacity, enabling it to reduce coal and gas generation.

In contrast, the USA experienced greater increase in electricity demand than in the rise in clean energy, resulting in an increase in fossil fuel use.

Solar power was responsible for most of the growth, meeting 83 per cent of the increase in electricity demand. This is a result of a major reduction in cost.