Clean Energy Dethrones Coal as the World's Leading Electricity Source

Clean Energy Dethrones Coal as the World's Leading Electricity Source

2026-04-24 global

London, Friday, 24 April 2026.
For the first time in over a century, renewables surpassed coal as the top global electricity source in 2025, with clean power absorbing all new worldwide demand.

The integration of variable renewable energy has been heavily supported by plunging energy storage costs. In 2025, battery costs plummeted by 45%, following a 20% decrease in 2024, which triggered a 46% surge in battery deployment [1]. This allowed the world to install enough battery capacity to shift 14% of newly generated solar energy from midday peaks to other times of the day [1][2]. According to Aditya Lolla, CEO of the energy think tank Ember, clean energy is now scaling rapidly enough to absorb rising demand and keep fossil generation flat before its inevitable decline [2].

Despite the historic success of renewables, the power sector faces a daunting surge in overall electricity requirements. Following a 3% year-on-year growth in 2025, global electricity demand is forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 3.6% between 2026 and 2030 [3]. Emerging economies, led by China, are expected to account for nearly 80% of this additional consumption [3]. Meanwhile, in the United States, electricity demand growth in 2025 hit its second-highest level since 2000, driven largely by data centers and industrial activity [4]. The strain of data centers has become so acute that the U.S. state of Maine recently passed legislation effectively banning large data center construction in certain areas [1].

Sources


Renewable energy Power generation