Clean electricity met all growth in global power demand in 2025.
This kept fossil generation flat as renewables’ share rose to nearly 34 per cent, overtaking coal for the first time in a century.
Solar and wind supplied almost all new demand.
Near-static hydropower exposed growing risks around balancing variable renewables.
The rise of clean electricity reached a new turning point in 2025 as clean power sources contirbuted to all growth in global electricity demand, preventing an increase in fossil generation. Near-flat hydropower growth, however, highlighted emerging constraints in balancing rapidly expanding renewables, according to a new report by global energy think tank Ember.
According to Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026, this shift pushed renewables to nearly 34 per cent of global electricity generation, overtaking coal’s 33 per cent share for the first time in over a century. Clean generation rose by 887 TWh, slightly exceeding demand growth of 849 TWh, resulting in a 0.2 per cent decline in fossil fuel-based generation.
At the same time, coal power dropped by 63 TWh (-0.6 per cent) in 2025, marking the first fall since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Combined with steady overall electricity demand growth, this meant that the share of coal fell below a third of global generation for the first time in history.
In 1919, when global electricity demand was nearly 300 times smaller than in 2025, renewables, at the time overwhelmingly hydropower, briefly exceeded coal power. For over 100 years since then, coal power has remained the largest source. Its share stayed consistently around or just below 40 per cent of the global power mix from the 1970s to the mid 2010s.
Combined with a fall in the share of gas (down to 21.8 per cent in 2025 from 23.9 per cent in 2020) and other fossil fuels in the global electricity mix, emissions intensity — the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced per unit of electricity — also declined. In 2025, the average kilowatt hour produced globally resulted in emissions of 458 gCO2e, 2.7 per cent less than in 2024 (471 gCO2e) and down 16 per cent from two decades ago in 2005 (543 gCO2e).
Solar and wind drive era of clean growth
The transition was powered overwhelmingly by solar and wind energy. Global solar generation rose by 636 TWh in 2025, a 30 per cent increase over the previous year and the fastest growth rate in eight years. Since 2015, solar output has grown more than tenfold, roughly doubling every three years, and is now comparable to the total electricity demand of the EU-27.
Wind power also registered strong growth, reinforcing the rapid scale-up of variable renewables worldwide.
Solar alone met 75 per cent of the increase in global electricity demand, while together with wind it accounted for 99 per cent of demand growth, underscoring the dominance of these sources in the current phase of the transition.
“We have firmly entered the era of clean growth,” said Aditya Lolla, managing director at Ember. “Clean energy is now scaling fast enough to absorb rising global electricity demand, keeping fossil generation flat before its inevitable decline.”
China led the surge in both solar and wind, contributing more than half of the global increase in solar capacity and generation in 2025, alongside significant additions in wind power.
China, India central to fossil decline
Asia is now the only region where coal still exceeds renewables, accounting for 52 per cent of generation versus 32 per cent for renewables in 2025, and making up 82 per cent of global coal generation though its share has been steadily declining as renewables expand.
The report highlights that the global shift away from fossil fuels was driven largely by developments in China and India, the two largest contributors to fossil power growth over the past two decades.
In China, fossil generation fell by 56 TWh as clean energy expansion met all demand growth. In India, fossil generation declined by 52 TWh (-3.3 per cent), supported by record increases in solar and wind generation, strong hydropower output and relatively moderate demand growth.
In Europe, coal’s share fell from 25 per cent in 2005 to 13 per cent in 2025, and to just 9.2 per cent in the EU-27, with renewables exceeding coal since 2013. North America saw coal drop from 45 per cent to 15 per cent over the same period, largely replaced by renewables and gas. In Oceania, coal’s share declined from 67 per cent to 36 per cent, with renewables overtaking it in 2023 and reaching 45 per cent in 2025.
In Africa, coal’s share nearly halved from 45 per cent to 24 per cent, with renewables surpassing it in 2025. Coal remains marginal in Latin America (4 per cent) and the Middle East (0.3 per cent).
This marked the first time this century that fossil generation declined simultaneously in both countries, helping tip the global balance in favour of renewables. Globally, coal generation fell by 63 TWh, dropping below one-third of total electricity generation for the first time.
Hydro flat globally despite regional swings
Despite the rapid growth in solar and wind, hydropower remained largely unchanged globally, increasing by just 3 TWh (+0.1 per cent) in 2025 compared to 2024.
This stability masked sharp regional variations. Hydro output increased most in China (+45 TWh), while strong monsoon rainfall drove a 21 TWh rise in India. However, these gains were offset by significant declines in Brazil (-25 TWh), Türkiye (-17 TWh) and the European Union (-43 TWh), particularly in alpine regions such as Italy, France and Switzerland that saw lower precipitation after strong hydro conditions in 2024.
The data highlights hydro’s continued dependence on weather patterns even as it remains the largest source of flexible, low-carbon electricity.
India last month cleared a new Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme for FY27-FY31, allocating Rs 2,584.6 crore (about $310 million) to support 1.5 GW of capacity across projects ranging from 1 MW to 25 MW, with a focus on hilly and north-eastern states where untapped potential remains.
The move marks a renewed push after earlier policy support waned. An exclusive small hydropower policy introduced in 2009, revised in 2014 to include Central Financial Assistance and attract private investment, was discontinued in 2017 due to budget constraints, project delays and a policy shift toward cheaper solar and wind energy.
For India, the report shows a divergence between rising hydro output and a declining share in the overall electricity mix. Hydropower accounted for 13.8 per cent of India’s generation in 2005 but fell to 8.6 per cent in 2025, indicating that growth has not kept pace with rising demand and the rapid expansion of solar and wind.
In absolute terms, hydro generation reached a record 178 TWh in 2025, surpassing the previous high of 175 TWh in 2022. India also added 4 GW of hydro capacity during the year.
While India recorded one of the largest increases in hydro generation globally, this growth was largely driven by favourable rainfall rather than sustained capacity expansion at scale, in contrast to China’s more structural growth.
The divergence between rapidly expanding solar and wind and relatively stable hydropower has implications for power systems. Solar generation peaks during the day, while demand typically rises in the evening, creating mismatches that require flexible generation.
Across countries, this increases the importance of dispatchable clean power such as hydropower. However, the limited and uneven growth in hydro suggests that many systems are adding renewable capacity without a proportional increase in balancing resources.
In India, coal continues to meet a significant share of demand during non-solar hours, even as overall fossil generation declines. Gas-based power remains constrained, reinforcing the importance of flexible alternatives.
Nuclear power rose moderately by 35 TWh (+1.3 per cent) in 2025. The increase was driven primarily by new reactors coming online in China (+37 TWh), along with higher output in France (+12 TWh) and Japan (+9 TWh). These gains were partially offset by reactor closures in Belgium, which reduced output by 7 TWh.
Ember’s seventh annual review, based on country-level data covering 91 countries representing 93 per cent of global electricity demand, underscores a turning point in the global power sector.
With clean power now meeting incremental demand growth and renewables overtaking coal, the world has entered a new phase of the energy transition. The report suggests that the next challenge lies not just in scaling clean power, but in ensuring that electricity systems can integrate and balance it effectively.
For India, the data highlights a dual trend: Rapid clean energy expansion alongside a declining share for hydropower, pointing to the need to strengthen flexible generation as the transition accelerates.