Overview
- Ember’s report released Tuesday found clean generation rose 887 TWh in 2025, exceeding the 849 TWh increase in electricity demand and lifting renewables to 34% of global supply as coal slipped to 33%.
- The IEA’s review published Monday reported overall energy demand up 1.3% and electricity use up about 3% in 2025, with solar providing roughly a quarter of total energy growth for the first time.
- Solar added a record ~600 TWh of generation last year and battery storage expanded by about 110 GW, allowing more daytime solar to be shifted to evening hours and helping renewables cover new load.
- Regional trends diverged as China and India cut fossil power on record clean additions, while the United States saw coal use rise due to higher gas prices and a cold winter, with data centers driving about half of U.S. demand growth.
- EV sales topped 20 million in 2025, or roughly one in four new cars, which helped hold oil demand growth near 0.7% as global energy CO2 emissions edged up about 0.4% and energy security concerns steered interest to domestic renewables.