OkSolar power overtook wind in global electricity generation for the first time in 2025, as renewable energy supplied about one-third of the world’s electricity, according to the latest Statistical Review of World Energy.
Worldwide electricity generation reached about 32,202 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025, with hydroelectricity, wind, solar and other renewable sources accounting for approximately 10,749 TWh, or 33.4 per cent of total global power generation.
Hydropower remained the largest source of renewable electricity, generating 4,479 TWh, equivalent to 13.9 per cent of global electricity. But solar emerged as the fastest-growing major renewable source, producing 2,811 TWh, or 8.7 per cent of global generation, compared with wind’s 2,714 TWh, or 8.4 per cent.
The latest figures highlight a rapid transformation in the global renewable energy mix, with total renewable electricity generation rising 9.1 per cent in 2025. Solar generation jumped 30.1 per cent during the year, compared with an 8.2 per cent increase in wind generation.
Other renewable sources, including geothermal and biomass, grew by 2.8 per cent, while hydropower increased only 0.4 per cent.
Solar alone accounted for nearly three-quarters of the increase in renewable electricity generation during the year, underscoring its growing dominance in the expansion of clean power.
The crossover between solar and wind represents a major shift in the global electricity market. In 2015, wind generation was more than three times solar output, with wind producing 832 TWh compared with just 257 TWh from solar.
By 2025, wind generation had more than tripled to 2,714 TWh, while solar output had increased almost elevenfold to 2,811 TWh.
Solar generation has accelerated particularly sharply in recent years. Global solar output stood at 1,061 TWh in 2022, meaning generation more than doubled in just three years and reached more than 2.6 times its 2022 level by 2025.
The Energy Institute, in its 2026 review, identified solar as the fastest-scaling renewable technology, noting that it accounted for 71 per cent of the increase in renewable total energy supply in 2025.
China remained the dominant force in solar power, generating about 1,173 TWh in 2025, representing nearly 42 per cent of global solar electricity. The United States ranked second with 393 TWh, followed by India with 169 TWh, Japan with 111 TWh and Germany with 92 TWh.
China’s solar generation increased by 40 per cent during the year, while US output grew 28 per cent and India’s rose 23 per cent.
Wind power, however, remains a major pillar of the global electricity system. Global wind generation rose 8.2 per cent to 2,714 TWh in 2025, with China again leading the market at 1,128 TWh, almost 42 per cent of the global total.
The United States followed with 469 TWh, while Germany generated 134 TWh, Brazil 116 TWh and India 104 TWh.
China’s wind generation increased 13.4 per cent in 2025, while India recorded an increase of almost 28 per cent and Brazil nearly eight per cent. Wind generation declined in some mature European markets, including Germany and Spain.
Together, solar and wind generated about 5,525 TWh in 2025, accounting for 17.2 per cent of global electricity generation. Their combined output was also about 23 per cent higher than global hydropower generation.
Despite the rapid growth of solar and wind, hydropower remains the largest individual source of renewable electricity, reflecting the maturity of the technology.
Global hydropower generation stood at 3,880 TWh in 2015 and rose only about 15 per cent over the following decade. Wind generation increased 226 per cent during the same period, while solar generation surged by nearly 1,000 per cent.
China was also the world’s largest hydropower producer in 2025, generating 1,392 TWh. Brazil followed with 398 TWh, Canada with 348 TWh, the United States with 244 TWh and Russia with about 200 TWh.
Hydropower output, however, can fluctuate significantly depending on rainfall, snowpack and reservoir conditions. Brazil’s hydroelectric generation, for instance, fell 5.4 per cent in 2025 despite the country remaining one of the world’s leading hydropower producers.
Geothermal, biomass and other smaller renewable technologies generated about 745 TWh globally in 2025, up 2.8 per cent from the previous year.
China produced approximately 137 TWh from these sources, followed by the United States with 65 TWh and Brazil with 62 TWh. Germany and Japan each generated about 48 TWh.
Although these technologies remain important in particular countries, their global expansion has been much slower than that of solar and wind. Their combined generation increased from 527 TWh in 2015 to 745 TWh in 2025, representing growth of about 41 per cent.
Biofuels followed a different trajectory because they primarily serve the transportation sector rather than electricity generation. Global biofuel consumption reached about 2.28 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, broadly unchanged from 2024.
However, ethanol and other biogasoline consumption increased seven per cent to approximately 1.27 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, while biodiesel consumption declined nearly seven per cent to about 1.01 million barrels per day.
The United States remained the largest biofuel consumer at about 749,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, although its consumption fell 11 per cent. Brazil ranked second at about 540,000 barrels per day, up nearly 10 per cent, while Indonesia ranked third at 197,000 barrels per day.
India recorded one of the strongest increases among major markets, with consumption rising almost 40 per cent to 111,000 barrels per day.
Despite the impressive expansion of renewable electricity, the data also highlight the continuing challenge posed by rising global energy demand.
Renewable energy supply increased by about 3.2 exajoules in 2025, while total global energy demand rose by roughly 8.1 exajoules. This means renewables supplied only about 40 per cent of the increase in global energy demand.
The implication is that renewable energy is expanding rapidly but has not yet grown sufficiently to displace existing fossil-fuel consumption on a sustained global basis.
Solar can grow by 30 per cent in a year and wind can continue expanding, while global fossil-fuel consumption still increases if overall energy demand grows faster than low-carbon energy supply.
The latest figures therefore present a dual picture of the global energy transition: renewable adoption is accelerating, led overwhelmingly by solar, but rising energy consumption continues to absorb much of the additional supply.
Hydropower remains the largest renewable source, wind continues to provide a substantial share of global electricity, and solar has entered a new phase of rapid expansion after overtaking wind in annual generation.
If the trends of the past decade persist, the global renewable electricity mix by 2035 could look dramatically different, with solar expected to play an increasingly dominant role in meeting the world’s growing demand for power.
