In 2025 the world crossed a line that had held since the age of steam: cleaner sources produced more of our electricity than coal did.
Electricity systems change slowly, which is what makes 2025 worth marking. According to Ember's global review, renewables generated 33.8 percent of the world's electricity last year, about 10,730 terawatt hours, edging past coal at 33.0 percent. It is the first time renewable sources have out-generated coal since roughly 1919, back when the grid was small and mostly hydropower.
How we know
The figure comes from Ember's Global Electricity Review, which draws on data from 215 countries. The International Energy Agency's 2026 review put renewables and coal almost level, with coal still just ahead, so the crossover is Ember's finding rather than a shared one. The engine of the shift is solar. Solar generation grew by nearly a third in a single year, adding 636 terawatt hours, and together solar and wind met 99 percent of the growth in global electricity demand.
Why it matters
For the first time outside a global crisis year, almost all of the new power the world needed came from clean sources rather than from burning more fossil fuel. The direction of the entire power system has tipped, and that direction is what shapes emissions for decades.
Renewables here is a basket that includes long established hydropower. Coal is still the single largest individual source of electricity, and the International Energy Agency expects it to stay that way for a few more years. The fossil fuel dip was small, about 0.2 percent, and power sector emissions fell only slightly rather than dropping sharply. This is a threshold crossed, not a race won.
How was this measured, and by whom?
The figures come from Ember's Global Electricity Review, which draws on data from 215 countries. They show renewables generating 33.8 percent of the world's electricity in 2025, edging past coal at 33.0 percent, though the International Energy Agency's own data puts the two almost level with coal still just ahead.
What drove the shift?
The engine is solar. Solar generation grew by nearly a third in a single year, adding 636 terawatt hours, and together solar and wind met 99 percent of the growth in global electricity demand. Almost all the new power the world needed came from clean sources rather than more fossil fuel.
Does this mean coal has been beaten?
Not yet. Coal is still the single largest individual source of electricity, and the International Energy Agency expects it to stay that way for a few more years. The fossil fuel dip was small, about 0.2 percent, and power sector emissions fell only slightly.
Does renewables here include older sources like hydropower?
Yes. The renewables figure is a basket that includes long established hydropower, not only solar and wind. This is a threshold crossed, the first time since roughly 1919 that renewables out-generated coal, rather than a race won.
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