Two new reports from the International Energy Agency and Ember highlight 2025 as a pivotal year for renewable energy, with solar power leading growth and renewables surpassing coal in global electricity generation for the first time in over a century. This progress occurred amid a war in Iran that disrupted 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. The analyses point to an emerging 'age of electricity' driven by renewables.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the think tank Ember released reports this week detailing record renewable energy advances in 2025. Solar power emerged as the largest source to meet rising global electricity demand, while carbon-free generation from wind, nuclear, hydropower, and others outpaced overall demand growth, displacing fossil fuels. Renewables generated more electricity than coal worldwide for the first time since before the 20th century, led by rapid expansions in solar, wind, and battery infrastructure in China and India—countries accounting for 42 percent of global fossil power generation. Fossil fuel electricity fell in both nations for the first time this century, despite normal economic growth and no recession. Battery costs dropped 45 percent that year, accelerating the shift. Ember lead researcher Daan Walter noted, “This was a year when the economy boomed, electricity demand grew very healthily — and still all that demand growth was met with renewables.” Globally, carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high, up 0.4 percent from 2024, as renewables have yet to fully displace fossil fuels in sectors like aviation and shipping. In the United States, coal demand rose 10 percent due to higher natural gas prices, a harsh eastern winter, and surging electricity use from data centers for artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, developing nations showed faster progress, such as Indonesia where electric vehicles made up over 15 percent of new car sales. Walter added, “We’re now seeing ‘leapfrogging’ across the world where actually developing economies are going faster in many ways than developed economies.”
