Global Electricity Review 2025

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Record renewables growth led by solar helped push clean power past 40% of global electricity in 2024, but heatwave-related demand spikes led to a small increase in fossil generation.

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8 Apr 2025

153 Minutes Read

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Euan Graham
Electricity and Data Analyst (Global)
Ember

Nicolas Fulghum
Senior Data Analyst
Ember

Katye Altieri
Electricity Transition Analyst (Global)
Ember

Executive summary

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2024 in review

Read Chapter 

The Big Picture

Read Chapter 

2.1

Solar is surging – flexibility can take it to the next level

Read Section 

2.2

Clean generation is expected to meet higher levels of demand growth

Read Section 

2.3

Future electricity demand growth in India and China will be powered by clean sources

Read Section 

Global Electricity Trends

Read Chapter 

3.1

Global electricity demand

Read Section 

3.2

Global electricity generation

Read Section 

3.3

Global power sector emissions

Read Section 

Global Electricity Source Trends

Read Chapter 

4.1

Solar

Read Section 

4.2

Wind

Read Section 

4.3

Hydro

Read Section 

4.4

Nuclear

Read Section 

4.5

Gas

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4.6

Coal

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Major Countries and Regions

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5.1

China

Read Section 

5.2

United States

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5.3

European Union

Read Section 

5.4

India

Read Section 

5.5

Russia

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5.6

Japan

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5.7

Brazil

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Conclusion

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Supporting Materials

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Highlights

40.9%

Share of global electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2024

+29%

Growth rate of solar generation in 2024, a six-year high

+4.0%

Electricity demand growth in 2024, which was amplified by heatwaves

About

Ember’s sixth annual Global Electricity Review provides the first comprehensive overview of changes in global electricity generation in 2024, based on reported data. It presents the trends underlying them, and the likely implications for energy sources and power sector emissions in the near future. With the report, Ember is also releasing the first comprehensive, free dataset of global electricity generation in 2024.

The report analyses electricity data from 215 countries, including the latest 2024 data for 88 countries representing 93% of global electricity demand, as well as estimates for 2024 for all other countries. The analysis also includes data for 13 geographic and economic groupings, including Africa, Asia, the EU and the G7. It also dives deeper into the seven countries and regions with the highest electricity demand, which account for 72% of global electricity demand. In addition to electricity generation data, the report uses weather and capacity data to uncover the underlying trends shaping the global power sector.

We make all of the data freely accessible to empower others to do their own analysis and help speed up the switch to clean electricity.

Executive summary

World surpasses 40% clean power as renewables see record rise

Clean power surpassed 40% of global electricity generation in 2024, driven by record growth in renewables, especially solar. Heatwaves contributed to high growth in electricity demand which resulted in a small increase in fossil generation, driving up power sector emissions to an all-time high.

Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition, with both solar generation and capacity installations setting new records in 2024. Solar generation has maintained its high growth rate, doubling in the last three years, and adding more electricity than any other source over that period. At the same time, electricity demand saw a significant rise in 2024, outpacing the growth in clean electricity. Expanding technologies such as AI, data centres, electric vehicles and heat pumps are already contributing to the rise in global demand. However, the main reason why electricity demand growth was elevated in 2024 compared to 2023 was an increase in air conditioning use during heatwaves. This accounted for almost all of the small rise in fossil generation.

Key takeaways

Clean power surpasses 40% of global electricity generation

Generation from all low-carbon power sources – renewables plus nuclear – surpassed 40% of global electricity in 2024 for the first time since the 1940s. Renewable power sources added a record 858 TWh of generation in 2024, 49% more than the previous record of 577 TWh set in 2022. The record increase in renewables coupled with a small increase in nuclear output of 69 TWh brought low-carbon power to 40.9% (12,609 TWh) of the mix in 2024, compared with 39.4% in 2023. Hydro remained the largest source of low-carbon electricity (14.3%), followed by nuclear (9.0%), with wind (8.1%) and solar (6.9%) rapidly gaining ground and together overtaking hydro in 2024, while nuclear’s share reached a 45-year low.

Solar generation doubles in three years

Solar generation has doubled over the last three years to reach over 2000 TWh. Solar was the largest source of new electricity generation globally for the third year in a row (+474 TWh) and the fastest growing source of electricity (+29%) for the 20th year in a row. More than half (53%) of the increase in solar generation in 2024 was in China, with China’s clean generation growth meeting 81% of its demand increase in 2024. The fast pace of global solar growth is set to continue, with 2024 setting a new record for solar capacity installations in a single year – more than double the amount installed in 2022. Global solar power capacity reached 1 TW in 2022 after decades of growth, but reached 2 TW only two years later, in 2024.

Heatwaves the main driver of a small increase in fossil generation

Periods of hotter temperatures around population centres drove up demand for cooling in 2024 compared with 2023. This added 0.7% (+208 TWh) to global electricity demand, and meant that overall demand grew by much more (+4.0%) than in 2023 (+2.6%). Consequently fossil generation increased by 1.4%, and global power sector emissions rose by 1.6% to a new all-time high of 14.6 billion tonnes of CO2. Hotter temperatures were the main driver of the rise in fossil generation: without this, fossil generation would have risen by only 0.2%, as clean electricity generation met 96% of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures. The increase in global fossil generation in 2024 (+245 TWh) was virtually identical to that seen in 2023 (+246 TWh) despite the substantial difference in rates of demand growth.

The global power system will be dominated by two mega-trends over the rest of the decade: solar’s share in the electricity mix rising rapidly as it continues its exponential growth, and robust electricity demand growth as electricity replaces other forms of energy powering the global economy.

Signs of this are already here: solar has been the largest source of new electricity for the last three years, and new drivers of demand such as EVs, heat pumps and data centres are contributing 0.7% to annual demand growth, more than twice as much as they did five years ago.

As we reach a tipping point where the increasingly rapid rise of clean generation outpaces structural growth in demand, changes to fossil fuel generation over the short-term will be dominated by fluctuations in weather, as seen in 2024 with the impacts of heatwaves. Despite this, it remains clear that clean generation growth and the uptake of flexible technologies such as battery storage will reduce reliance on fossil fuel power in the coming years, even in a world of faster demand growth.

We estimate that even if electricity demand grows at 4.1% per year until 2030, which exceeds current expectations, clean generation growth will be fast enough to keep pace. Dynamics in the world’s largest emerging economies will play a crucial role. China and India are both moving towards a future of demand growth powered by clean electricity, helping to tip the balance towards a decline in fossil generation at a global level.

Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition. Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity. Amid the noise, it’s essential to focus on the real signal. Hotter weather drove the fossil generation increase in 2024, but we’re very unlikely to see a similar jump in 2025. The world is watching how technologies like AI and EVs will drive electricity demand. It’s clear that booming solar and wind are comfortably set to deliver, and those expecting fossil fuel generation to keep rising will be disappointed. Cleantech, not fossil fuels, is now the driving force of economic development. The era of fossil growth is coming to an end, even in a world of fast-rising demand.

Phil MacDonald
‍Managing Director, Ember

As the cost of solar power and battery storage continues to fall, we are witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in global adoption. The combination of affordable solar and wind energy, supported by flexible grids and storage solutions, is enabling faster decarbonisation and at lower cost than previously imagined. To sustain this momentum, we must urgently address key challenges that still threaten progress today: unlocking financing by offering long-term contracts to renewable generation, support for rapid electrification – including ensuring cheap wind and solar costs translate into low consumer energy prices – and promoting system flexibility, particularly by active participation of consumers on the ‘demand-side’ which can lower costs today.

Mike Hemsley
‍Deputy Director, Energy Transitions Commission

The future of the global power system is being shaped in Asia, with China and India at the heart of the energy transition. Their increasing reliance on renewables to power demand growth marks a shift that will redefine the global power sector and accelerate the decline of fossil fuels.

Professor Xunpeng Shi
‍President of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS)

Despite geopolitical and economic headwinds, the renewables industry delivered an additional 858 TWh of generation to the system last year—more than the combined annual electricity consumption of the UK and France. Clean power now makes up over 40% of global power generation, proving that the momentum is unstoppable. Now, governments must step up, cut red tape, and unlock finance to accelerate deployment and realise the vast security, economic, social, and health benefits of clean energy. People and businesses can’t afford delays.