Two Historic Crossovers: Renewables Passed Coal, Then Wind and Solar Passed Gas
Renewables generated 34% of the world's electricity in 2025, overtaking coal for the first time in about a century, according to Ember. In April 2026, wind and solar produced 531 TWh, more than gas-fired power for the first time. The numbers behind the shift.
By the UISC BD Editorial Desk · United Information Service Center · Published 13 September 2026 · 5-minute read
For most of the modern era, coal was the world's biggest source of electricity. The data now shows that era ending.
Crossover One: Renewables Beat Coal in 2025
According to energy think tank Ember's Global Electricity Review 2026:
- Renewables — solar, wind, hydropower and others — produced 34 percent of global electricity in 2025, or 10,730 terawatt-hours.
- Coal's share was 33 percent.
- It is the first time in roughly 100 years that renewables have generated more than coal.
The Solar Surge
- The world added a record 647 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2025, up 11 percent from 582 GW in 2024.
- Solar alone met 75 percent of the growth in global electricity demand.
- Solar and wind together met 99 percent of demand growth.
In practical terms, almost all of the world's new electricity need in 2025 was covered by wind and sunlight.
Crossover Two: Wind and Solar Beat Gas in April 2026
The momentum continued into this year. In April 2026, wind and solar together generated a record 531 TWh — 54 TWh more than gas-fired power stations, which produced 477 TWh. Ember describes this as the first time wind and solar have out-generated gas worldwide in a month. Solar and wind are each expected to overtake nuclear generation during 2026.
Why It Is Happening
Cost. Solar panels and wind turbines have become some of the cheapest ways to build new generating capacity.
Speed. Solar farms can be built far faster than large conventional power stations.
Scale. Record manufacturing volumes keep pushing prices down.
What Still Needs to Happen
Crossovers are milestones, not the finish line. Grids need more storage, stronger transmission lines and flexible demand to use variable wind and solar power efficiently around the clock.
A Local Example
Institutions are making the switch too — South Africa's Nelson Mandela University is installing more than 8,500 solar panels across its campuses. Cleaner electricity also makes the world's fast-growing EV fleet cleaner to run.
Related reading
- Nelson Mandela University Installs 8,500 Solar Panels to Run on Nearly 80% Renewable Power
- Global EV Sales Reach 1.83 Million in August as Europe Surges 36%
- Solid-State Batteries Get Their First International Standard Proposal
- Tesla Robotaxi Passes 1 Million Unsupervised Miles: What It Means
Sources
- "Global Electricity Review 2026," Ember — ember-energy.org
- "For the first time, wind and solar generated more electricity than gas worldwide in April 2026," Ember — ember-energy.org
- "Renewable energy sets global record," The Pew Charitable Trusts — pew.org
- "Global solar generation met three-quarters of new power demand in 2025 — Ember," PV Tech — pv-tech.org
