Solar curbs fossil fuel reliance on global electricity demand

CLEAN POWER met all new global electricity demand in 2025, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, according to a report from Ember.

The think tank’s annual review said growth in renewables outpaced the increase in electricity demand, with wind and solar together covering 99% of the increase in demand – the “gap” between rising consumption and the additional power needed to meet it. Solar alone accounted for around three-quarters of that growth.

As a result, fossil fuel generation fell for the first time since the Covid pandemic in 2020, dropping 0.2% to 38 TWh.

The surge in solar was led by China and India – historically two of the largest greenhouse gas emitters – increasing their investment in low-carbon technologies.

Given the conflict in the Middle East, Ember hailed the increased focus on renewables as a “permanent route toward energy security”.

Solar surplus

Last year, solar generation increased by a record 636 TWh, double the annual electricity demand of the UK. China contributed more than half (336 TWh), some way clear of the US (85 TWh) and EU countries (60 TWh).

Wind also experienced a surge, with 205 TWh generated. China again led the way (138 TWh), ahead of India (22 TWh).

Fossil fuel fall

With the boost in clean power aligning with increased electricity demand, the Ember report projects that fossil fuel will plateau before entering a “more consistent decline” in the early 2030s.

This has been measured across demand data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which projects that electricity demand will increase by 3.2% annually, with clean power generation making up for that with an average increase of 7% annually.

Energy security may be facilitated even further by clean power due to the energy disruption brought by the US and Iran war. According to the IEA, the conflict has caused “the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world.”

Many countries have begun planning for new clean power infrastructure since the war began, including the UK, which is pushing the adoption of ‘plug-in’ solar panels for homes to curb energy price hikes.

Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said: “One of the best things that you can do to insulate your economy to volatile oil and gas prices that are exposed to geopolitical risk is to reduce how much you use in the first place.

“And one way to do that is to electrify more of your economy and then try to produce more of that electricity with domestic sources — renewables, could be nuclear power, and for some parts of the world, it's coal.”