Renewable energy sources ahead of coal as the largest source of electricity in the world

Renewable energy ahead of coal as a leading source of electricity in the world in the first half of this year – historically first, according to new Global Energy Think Tank Ember data.

The demand for electricity is increasing around the world, but the growth of the sun and the wind has been so strong that it met 100% of the additional demand for electricity, it even helped to achieve a slight decline in the use of coal and gas.

However, Ember says the titles mask a mixed global picture.

Developing countries, especially China, led the pure energy fee, but the richer nations, including the US and the EU, relied more than before the fossil fossil fuels for electricity production.

Coal, a major contribution to global warming, are still the largest individual source of energy production in the world in 2024, a position that has been occupied for more than 50 years, according to the International Energy Agency.

China remains much ahead in the growth of clean energy, adding more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world in combination. This allowed the growth of renewable production in China to outstrip the growing demand for electricity and helped to reduce the production of fossil fuels by 2%.

India has experienced a more slow growth in demand for electricity and also added a significant new sun and wind, which means that it is too reduced by coal and gas.

In contrast, developed nations like the United States, as well as the EU, saw the opposite trend.

In the United States, demand for electricity is increasing than clean energy, increasing the reading of fossil fuels, while in the EU the months of low wind and hydropower have led to an increase in coal and gas production.

Despite these regional differences, Ember calls this moment a “decisive turning point.”

Ember Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka’s senior analyst said “marks the beginning of a change in which clean power is up to date with the growth of demand.”

Solar energy has delivered the lion’s share in growth, responding to 83% of the increase in demand for electricity. It is now the largest source of new electricity worldwide in three years in a row.

Most solar generations (58%) are now in lower income countries, many of which have observed explosive growth in recent years.

This is due to the spectacular cost reductions. Solar has seen prices have been falling for shocking 99.9% since 1975. And now they are so cheap that large solar energy markets can appear in a country within a year, especially when the network’s electricity is expensive and unreliable, Ember says.

Pakistan, for example, imported solar panels capable of generating 17 gigas (GW) of solar energy in 2024, double in the previous year and the equivalent of approximately one -third of the current electricity production capacity in the country.

Africa is also experiencing a solar boom with the import of panels by 60% per year, during the year until June. The heavy coal of South Africa led the road, while Nigeria outstripped Egypt second with 1.7 GW of solar generating capacity – this is enough to meet the demand for electricity of approximately 1.8 million homes in Europe.

Some smaller African countries are watching even faster growth, with Algeria increasing imports 33 times, Zambia eight times and boiled seven times.

In some countries, the growth of solar energy is so fast that it creates unexpected challenges.

In Afghanistan, the widespread use of water pumps with solar energy reduces water mass, threatening long -term access to groundwater. Survey by David Mansfield and satellite data company Alcis It warns that some regions can dry within five to ten years, threatening millions of livelihood.

Adir Turner, chairman of the UK’s energy transition Committee, says the countries in the global Sunbage and the Wind Belt face many different energy challenges.

Nations of the solar belt – including much of Asia, Africa and Latin America – need large amounts of electricity for daily air conditioning. These countries can significantly reduce energy costs almost immediately by taking solar systems maintained by increasingly affordable batteries that store energy day by night.

However, the sides of the wind belt such as the United Kingdom face more obstacles. The cost of wind turbines has not been reduced by something like the solar panels – only one third or more in the last decade. Higher interest rates also add to the cost of loaning and have increased the total cost of significant installation of wind power plants over the last few years.

Delivery balancing is also more difficult: winter winds can last weeks, requiring spare energy sources that batteries themselves cannot provide -making the system more expensive to build and operate.

But wherever you are in the world, China’s huge dominance in clean technology industries remains indisputable, other new Ember data shows.

In August 2025, its export of clean technology reached a record $ 20 billion, driven by increasing sales of electric vehicles (up to 26%) and batteries (23%). Together, electric vehicles and batteries in China are now more than twice as large as the export value of the solar panel.