Renewable energy for the first time overtakes coal in electricity generation


10/08/2025

In the early months of 2025, for the first time ever, electricity production from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy facilities, surpassed that from coal-fired power generation, according to Reuters, referencing information from the analytics firm Ember.



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Between January and June, worldwide renewable electricity production hit 5,072,000 TWh, whereas coal-based electricity generation amounted to 4,896,000 TWh.

China, the biggest user of electricity globally, cut its fossil fuel electricity generation by 2% compared to the previous year in the first half of the year. At the same time, solar production rose by 43% and wind production grew by 16%.

India boosted wind energy production by 29% and solar energy output by 31%. This enabled a decrease in its coal and gas consumption by 3.1%.

In contrast, coal-fired power generation in the United States rose by 17%, whereas gas-fired generation fell by 3.9%. In the European Union, power generation from natural gas rose by 14%, and power generation from coal rose by 1.1%.

source: reuters.com