The global electricity mix is undergoing a major transformation, with low-emissions sources reaching a record 43 percent share of total power generation in 2025 – the highest level in the past fifty years, according to IEA’s Global Energy Review.
Renewables alone accounted for 34 percent of global electricity generation, up from 32 percent in 2024 and 23 percent a decade ago, while combined wind and solar PV contributed 17 percent, more than triple their share from about 5 percent ten years earlier.
Despite this rapid growth, coal remained the largest source of electricity globally at 34 percent, followed by natural gas at 21 percent, highlighting the continued reliance on fossil fuels. In emerging markets such as China, India, and Southeast Asia, coal continued to dominate power generation. However, its share declined significantly in China to 55 percent in 2025 from 70 percent a decade ago, while India’s coal share eased to 71 percent from 74 percent in 2024 and 76 percent in 2015. Southeast Asia saw coal’s share remain stable at 48 percent, still higher than 37 percent a decade earlier. Renewables reached 32 percent of electricity generation across emerging markets, with nuclear contributing around 5 percent.
Advanced economies are leading the clean energy transition, with renewables supplying 36 percent of electricity generation in 2025, compared to 24 percent ten years ago. When combined with nuclear power, which accounted for 16 percent, low-emissions sources generated more than half of total electricity in these regions. Coal’s share in advanced economies has declined sharply, stabilizing at around 16 percent in 2025 from 30 percent in 2015.
Europe continued to accelerate its transition, with solar and wind reaching 30 percent of electricity generation in 2025, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time. The United Kingdom increased its renewable share to 55 percent after closing its last coal-fired power plant in 2024. In the United States, coal’s share rose slightly to 17 percent due to higher natural gas prices, while natural gas remained dominant at 40 percent of generation, though down from 42 percent in 2024.
On the capacity front, renewable energy expansion hit another milestone. Global renewable capacity additions grew by 16 percent in 2025 to reach 800 GW, marking the 23rd consecutive year of record growth. Solar PV dominated new installations, accounting for more than 75 percent of additions, followed by wind at 20 percent. Solar capacity additions alone exceeded 600 GW, pushing total installed capacity to around 2,800 TW and making it the largest power generation technology globally. Meanwhile, wind capacity additions surged by nearly 40 percent to a record 160 GW, despite ongoing supply chain challenges.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH