Renewable electricity generation has experienced substantial growth in recent years, with multiple sources contributing to the global power supply. As of 2025, renewables represented roughly one-third of worldwide electricity generation, comprising hydropower at 15%, wind at 8%, and solar at 7%. Fossil fuels remained the dominant source at nearly 60% of global electricity, primarily from coal and natural gas, though their historical dominance has begun to shift.
The expansion of renewable capacity has accelerated dramatically, with solar and wind leading the charge. In 2025, new global electricity generation capacity was more than 85% renewable, with total renewable generation capacity reaching 5,149 GW—representing nearly 7-fold growth over the preceding 25 years. Solar emerged as the fastest-growing source, roughly doubling every three years, while electricity generation from solar and wind combined increased more than 11-fold and 3-fold respectively between 2015 and 2025. Notably, 2025 marked the first year in over a century that renewable sources generated more electricity than coal alone.
Cost reductions have been fundamental to renewable growth. The levelized cost of electricity for utility-scale solar and onshore wind declined 90% and 70% respectively between 2010 and 2024. Battery storage costs also fell dramatically, declining 90% from 2012 to 2025, enabling greater grid integration of variable renewable sources. These technology improvements, combined with larger project scales and reduced operating expenses, have positioned renewables as a cost-competitive alternative offering greater price stability than fossil fuel generation.
Government policies and corporate purchasing decisions have reinforced renewable expansion. More than 130 governments currently maintain policies encouraging renewable deployment, ranging from subsidies to purchasing targets and carbon pricing mechanisms. These supportive measures help counterbalance decades of fossil fuel subsidies, with governments providing over $700 billion in explicit fossil fuel subsidies in 2024 alone. The International Energy Agency projects that solar and wind will account for approximately 30% of global electricity generation by 2030, nearly double their current share.
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