Renewable energy surpassed coal as the world’s primary source of electricity in the first half of 2025, according to new data from the energy think tank Ember. Solar power led the charge, covering 83% of the increase in electricity demand.
Ember described the moment as a “crucial turning point,” whereby clean power can keep pace with rapidly growing energy needs, particularly as the world faces the huge increase in power necessary to fuel the AI boom.
However, the think tank warned that there are significant regional differences behind the numbers; new data from the International Energy Agency revised renewable energy growth in the US by 2030 down by half. It also suggested that the pace of renewables adoption in China — the current largest renewables growth market globally — could temper, the Financial Times reported.
Renewables are expected to boom elsewhere, however: Pakistan imported enough solar panels in 2024 to generate around a third of the country’s current power generation capacity, the BBC said. And in Africa, solar panel imports are up 60% in the year to June compared with the same period last year.