Moving to a solar-dominated grid
When it comes to supplying electrons for those alternatives, the central issue is solar energy. “The absolute increase in solar PV generation in 2025 is the largest ever observed for any source,” the EIA says, “excluding years marked by spikes in global economic crises such as COVID-19.” In other words, with nothing in particular driving energy markets in 2025, Solar’s growth was unprecedented. Its growth alone covered a quarter of the growing demand for all forms of energy. If we limit it to electricity, the increase in solar production covered more than two-thirds of the increase in demand.
Overall, solar generated more than 2,700 terawatt-hours last year, more than double its output from three years earlier. It currently accounts for more than 8 percent of the world’s total electricity production. Thirty individual countries installed at least one gigawatt of solar power last year, and it is now the largest grid source by capacity (although other sources still surpass it in production at this time).
Change in the production of different sources of electricity. Most have barely moved in the last two years, with solar energy being a big exception.
The solar boom is the main reason why carbon-free generation sources (hydro, nuclear, solar, wind and other renewables) were able to grow faster than demand in 2025. In other words, as electrification increases, we are at the point where we are able to meet additional demand without increasing carbon emissions. These sources covered almost 60 percent of the overall growth in demand for energy of all types.
The growth of solar energy is accompanied by a key enabling technology: batteries. Batteries were the fastest growing energy technology, with capacity additions increasing by 40 percent between 2024 and 2025, reaching 110 GW of new capacity last year. This is apparently more than the largest natural gas capacity addition in a year, and leaves our total installed capacity at more than 10 times what it was just five years ago. Batteries, when combined with cheap solar power, can limit the need for fossil fuel-powered backups.
As noted above, natural gas use increased (about 1 percent), but that was primarily driven by climate-driven heating demand. Coal remained largely stable, with usage increasing just 0.4 percent. While the United States saw a small increase in coal use, coal use in the EU fell below 10 percent of electricity production last year for the first time since statistics have been kept. While China brought many coal plants online in 2025, they were largely brought online during a previous energy crisis. In fact, China saw its use of coal for electricity drop last year due to its huge investment in renewable energy (China was responsible for 60 percent of global renewable energy growth last year).
