Clean Energy Outpaces Fossil Fuels in 2025
In a significant shift, clean energy sources contributed more to global energy supplies than any other energy type in 2025, as reported by the Energy Institute’s latest statistical review. This marks the first time outside the Covid pandemic that wind and solar together surpassed individual fossil fuels in adding new energy.
The Energy Institute, which took over the statistical review from BP in 2023, highlighted the increasing role of electricity in the global energy landscape. As electricity demand surged by 3% in 2025, overall energy use grew by only 1.7%, with all new power coming from low-carbon sources.
While the report includes data on data-center demand for the first time, these centers account for just 2% of global electricity use and 15% of the increase seen in 2025. Other, larger contributors to electricity demand growth include the electrification of industry, heat, and transport, according to separate data.
Globally, all energy sources—coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar—reached record highs in 2025. Even though fossil fuels contributed to 86% of “primary energy,” this record low masks their actual economic contribution due to energy losses during combustion.
Record Growth in Global Energy Supply
The Energy Institute’s review shows a historic high in global energy supply, which rose by 10 exajoules (1.7%) to surpass 600 exajoules for the first time. This increase was driven by record highs across all energy types, including wind and solar, which grew the fastest at 18.3% year-on-year.
Coal reached a new peak of 166 exajoules, up 0.7% from the previous year and 2.8% above its 2014 peak, which had been considered a potential turning point for the fossil fuel.
Fossil Fuels’ Diminished Share
Fossil fuels comprised 86.2% of global primary energy supplies in 2025, a record low. The so-called “primary energy fallacy” inflates the perceived importance of fossil fuels by counting energy losses during combustion as part of their contribution to the energy system.
Historically, the rise of nuclear energy had reduced fossil fuels’ share to 91% by 1986, but this progress was halted by the Chernobyl disaster. In recent years, the rapid growth of wind and solar has begun to shift the balance again.
Overcoming the Primary Energy Fallacy
Traditional measures of “total energy supply” (TES) have inflated the role of fossil fuels by ignoring the energy lost as waste heat during combustion. Estimates suggest that two-thirds of primary energy is lost before it can be converted into useful energy.
This “primary energy fallacy” suggests that replacing fossil fuels with clean energy is more challenging than it is, as it fails to account for the higher efficiency of renewable energy sources.
The Energy Institute’s statistical review previously addressed this by using the “substitution method,” estimating the primary energy supplied by renewables as equivalent to the fossil fuels needed to generate the same electricity. However, this approach was abandoned in 2025 to better reflect the efficiency of clean energy systems.
“Put simply, in future we will need to supply less energy in the form of clean electricity to undertake the same amount of work as the equivalent energy supplies from fossil fuels,” the Energy Institute explained. “Primary energy demand will decrease as the energy system increasingly electrifies and renewable electricity continues to increase its share of generation.”
Wind and Solar Lead in New Energy
In 2025, wind and solar became the largest sources of new energy, surpassing all fossil fuels when combined. Unlike fossil fuels, where much of the primary energy is lost as waste heat, almost all the new energy from wind and solar is readily converted into electricity for direct use.
Wind and solar experienced an 18% growth in 2025, expanding fivefold over the past decade, while fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas saw slower growth rates of 6%, 9%, and 21%, respectively.
Renewables Power All Electricity Growth
Renewables, along with a new record in nuclear power, met all of the global electricity demand growth in 2025. Wind and solar now generate more electricity than hydro and nuclear power, as fossil fuel generation remained steady.
Global electricity generation increased by 940 terawatt hours (TWh), or 3%, in 2025—triple the UK’s annual demand. Data centers accounted for 2% of global electricity demand, using 788TWh, up from 130TWh the previous year.
China’s Dominance in Electricity Generation
As the power sector becomes increasingly crucial, China’s electricity generation continues to outpace other regions. The nation now produces more electricity than the US, EU, and India combined.
China’s electricity makes up 30% of its final energy supplies, well above the global average. The country has set a target of 35% electrification by 2030, facilitated by its vast electricity system, which has been increasingly powered by clean energy sources.
Original Story at www.carbonbrief.org