Solar Overtakes Wind in Global Electricity Generation for the First Time
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### Solar Overtakes Wind as Global Renewable Energy Surges
Nearly two decades ago, the potential of solar energy was clear, primarily due to its superior efficiency in capturing the sun’s power compared to biomass. At the time, high costs, limited storage, and a fossil-fuel-dominated infrastructure kept solar as a distant prospect. Today, that future has arrived.
According to the latest *Statistical Review of World Energy*, solar generation surged in 2025, officially surpassing wind power in global electricity generation for the first time. While hydropower remains the largest overall renewable source, solar has solidified its position as the fastest-growing component of the global renewable energy supply.
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### Renewables Account for One-Third of Global Electricity
In 2025, global electricity generation reached approximately 32,202 terawatt-hours (TWh). Combined renewable sources—including hydro, wind, solar, and biomass—generated about 10,749 TWh, accounting for **33.4% of the world’s electricity**.
The breakdown of global electricity generation in 2025 highlights the shifting dynamics:
* **Hydroelectric:** 4,479 TWh (13.9% of global total)
* **Solar:** 2,811 TWh (8.7% of global total)
* **Wind:** 2,714 TWh (8.4% of global total)
* **Other Renewables (Geothermal, Biomass, etc.):** 745 TWh (2.3% of global total)
While overall renewable generation grew by 9.1% in 2025, the growth was highly uneven across sectors. Solar generation skyrocketed by **30.1%**, wind increased by 8.2%, other renewables grew by 2.8%, and hydropower edged up by just 0.4%. Remarkably, solar accounted for nearly three-quarters of the net growth in renewable electricity over the year.
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### Solar’s Rapid Ascent Past Wind
The milestone of solar surpassing wind highlights an extraordinary decade of growth. In 2015, wind generation (832 TWh) was more than three times that of solar (257 TWh). Ten years later, wind power had more than tripled to 2,714 TWh, but solar output expanded nearly elevenfold to reach 2,811 TWh.
Solar’s acceleration has been particularly intense recently: its 2025 output was more than 2.6 times its 2022 level of 1,061 TWh. The Energy Institute noted that solar accounted for 71% of the total increase in primary renewable energy supply in 2025.
#### Top Solar Producers in 2025:
* **China:** 1,173 TWh (nearly 42% of the global total; up 40% year-over-year)
* **United States:** 393 TWh (up 28%)
* **India:** 169 TWh (up 23%)
* **Japan:** 111 TWh
* **Germany:** 92 TWh
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### Wind Power Continues Steady Growth
Though outpaced by solar, wind remains a massive pillars of the global power grid. Global wind generation rose 8.2% to 2,714 TWh in 2025.
#### Top Wind Producers in 2025:
* **China:** 1,128 TWh (nearly 42% of the global total; up 13.4%)
* **United States:** 469 TWh
* **Germany:** 134 TWh
* **Brazil:** 116 TWh (up 8%)
* **India:** 104 TWh (up 28%)
While wind generation continues to expand rapidly in developing markets like China and India, output declined in several mature European markets, including Germany and Spain. Together, wind and solar generated 17.2% of the world’s electricity in 2025, outperforming global hydropower by 23%.
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### Hydropower: The Established Giant
With 4,479 TWh generated in 2025, hydroelectricity remains the single largest source of renewable electricity. However, as a mature technology, its growth has slowed significantly. Over the past decade, global hydro output increased by only 15%, compared to a 226% increase for wind and an almost 1,000% increase for solar.
China leads global hydro production with 1,392 TWh, followed by Brazil (398 TWh), Canada (348 TWh), the United States (244 TWh), and Russia (~200 TWh). Because hydroelectricity is highly dependent on annual rainfall and reservoir levels, generation fluctuates year-to-year; for example, Brazil’s hydro output fell 5.4% in 2025 despite no loss in installed capacity.
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### Biomass, Geothermal, and Biofuels
Other renewable power sources—such as geothermal and biomass—generated 745 TWh in 2025, a modest 2.8% increase. China led this category (~137 TWh), followed by the U.S. (65 TWh) and Brazil (62 TWh). These technologies remain regionally important but are growing at a fraction of the speed of solar and wind.
Meanwhile, liquid biofuels, which compete in the transportation sector rather than power generation, saw flat global demand in 2025 at 2.28 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
* **Biogasoline (Ethanol):** Increased 7% to 1.27 million barrels/day.
* **Biodiesel:** Decreased nearly 7% to 1.01 million barrels/day.
The U.S. remains the top biofuel consumer (749,000 barrels/day, down 11%), followed by Brazil (540,000 barrels/day, up 10%), Indonesia (197,000 barrels/day), and India (111,000 barrels/day, up nearly 40%). Biofuel growth remains highly dependent on regional blending mandates and feedstock availability rather than open market dynamics.
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### The Reality of the Transition: Addition vs. Displacement
Despite the impressive expansion of renewables, they are not yet displacing fossil fuels on a global scale.
In 2025, the global renewable energy supply grew by 3.2 exajoules, but total global energy demand rose by 8.1 exajoules. This means **renewables met only about 40% of the increase in global energy demand**.
Because overall energy consumption is growing faster than green energy capacity, fossil fuel consumption has continued to rise alongside renewables. For a true energy transition to occur, low-carbon energy growth must accelerate to the point where it exceeds net energy demand growth, allowing it to actively replace coal, oil, and natural gas.
The current transition is moving at two speeds: solar is scaling at an unprecedented rate, but rising global demand continues to absorb this new capacity. The renewable energy future is arriving, but for now, it is being layered on top of the existing fossil-fuel system rather than replacing it.
