Renewables generate over a third of global electricity in 2025, overtaking coal

According to figures compiled by Our World in Data from Ember and the Energy Institute's Statistical Review, renewables produced 34% of the world's electricity in 2025, making them the largest single source and pushing coal down to 33%. Nuclear power's contribution declined to 9%, about half of its early-2000s share, even though total nuclear generation rose to a record 2,702 TWh, up 35 TWh from the previous year. Fossil fuels remained dominant at 57% of generation, down from more than two-thirds a decade earlier.

The surge in renewable output was driven primarily by solar, which added 636 TWh and captured an 8.7% share of global generation, nearly matching nuclear's 8.8% share. Nuclear growth came mainly from new reactors in China (37 TWh), France (12 TWh) and Japan (9 TWh), while closures in Belgium reduced output by 7 TWh. Eleven reactors began construction in 2025, bringing total under-construction capacity to 82 GWe against 423 GWe operating.