UK-based think-tank Ember says solar energy generation has doubled over the last years to exceed 2,000 TWh in 2024 and led renewable energy generation to surpass 40% of global electricity in 2024 for the 1st time since the 1940s. This share of 40% also includes all low-carbon power sources, including nuclear energy.
In its latest report titled Global Electricity Review 2025, Ember says that renewable power sources added a record 858 TWh of generation in 2024, representing a 49% year-on-year (YoY) growth.
Solar was the largest source of new electricity generation for the 3rd consecutive year as it generated 474 TWh last year. It was also the 20th year in a row for solar as the fastest-growing source of electricity. The increase in solar capacity was 29% more in 2024 on a YoY basis.
“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,” said Ember’s Managing Director Phil MacDonald.
Despite this, the Ember report notes a 1.4% annual increase in fossil fuel generation due to hotter temperatures prompting increased need for cooling in 2024. Without this, their generation would have improved by 0.2%.
As electricity demand goes up with the mushrooming of data centers for AI and crypto mining, electrified transport and heating, Ember sees solar and batteries as best placed to deliver cheaply and at scale.
According to the report writers, the US is not the central driver of the global clean energy transition; China is. The Asian giant registered more than half of the global increase in solar and wind power. “Meanwhile, uncertainties over trade relations with the US are likely to increase many governments’ appetite for the clean energy transition, in regions including Europe and Latin America, because it offers a route to reduced dependence on volatile global markets for coal and gas,” reads the report.
The complete report is available for free download on Ember’s website.
