Global utilities generated a record amount of clean electricity while cutting output from fossil fuels during the opening half of 2025, thereby maintaining the momentum of international efforts to cut back on fossil fuel use in energy production.

However, energy transition progress was more varied at a regional level, as Europe and the United States both recorded rare increases in fossil fuel use while China widened its lead in clean electricity production.

Below is a breakdown of the key global and regional electricity generation milestones recorded so far in 2025.

CLEAN GROWTH

Global utilities generated a record 6,405 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from clean power sources during January to June of 2025, data from energy think tank Ember showed.

That output total was 6% more than during the same months in 2024, and means that worldwide clean electricity supply has increased every six months for the past three years.

Clean power’s share of global utility electricity supply was a record 43.2%, and compared to a 41.8% share during the first half of 2024.

Hydro dams were the largest single source of clean electricity globally during January to June, accounting for 14% or 2,060 TWh of total electricity output.

Wind and solar farms both generated around 9% of total electricity supply, which was a record for both power sources in terms of absolute electricity output and share of overall supply.

Nuclear power stations have supplied an additional 9% of global electricity so far this year.

Solar power output recorded the largest year-over-year increase of all power sources, jumping by 29% compared with the opening half of 2024 to 1,289 TWh.

FOSSIL FLUX

Globally, fossil fuel-powered electricity supply remained flat compared to a year earlier at 8,414 TWh for the first half of the year.

Coal remained the largest source of fossil fuel power and has accounted for a third of global electricity production so far this year, generating around 4,909 TWh of electricity.

However, the outright volume of global coal-fired generation was the smallest for a six-month window since the first half of 2023, and coal’s share of the global generation mix was the smallest on record for a six-month span since at least 2019.

Natural gas lost ground in terms of global electricity share so far this year, as a steep climb in gas prices in late 2024 and early 2025 sparked fuel switching to coal and other power sources in several key generation markets.

Overall, natural gas plants supplied 21% of global electricity during the first half of 2025, down from a 22% share the year before and an average 23% share since 2019.

GEOGRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS

Europe’s electricity generation mix showed the largest year-over-year swings among major markets, due in part to sustained declines in wind and hydro power output which forced utilities to ramp up production from fossil fuels.

Wind generation in Europe fell 8% from the opening half of 2024 while hydro output dropped 12%, resulting in a 3% contraction in total clean electricity supply in Europe during January to June compared to the same period in 2024.

To compensate for the decline in clean power, gas-fired electricity output in Europe rose by 9% compared to the opening half of 2024, while coal-fired generated climbed 3%.

In the United States, gas-fired generation fell 4% compared to January to June of 2024, while coal-fired output jumped by 17% as high gas prices sparked widespread fuel switching across U.S. power networks.

In China, which is the top global electricity producer from fossil fuels, output from coal and gas plants both declined by 2% from the first half of 2024.

A 14% increase in total clean electricity supply – to a record 2,007 TWh – alongside pockets of economic weakness has allowed Chinese utilities to trim power supply from fossil fuel plants so far this year.

Elsewhere, clean electricity output rose 7% from the opening half of 2024 while fossil fuel generation held flat, indicating that a majority of economies continued to make energy transition progress even as Europe and the United States regressed.
Source: Reuters