The share of renewable sources in global electricity supply is projected to increase from 30% in 2023 to 35% in 2025. According to the latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity demand is rising at its fastest pace in several years, driven by robust economic growth, intense heatwaves, and the increasing adoption of technologies that run on electricity, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps. Meanwhile, renewables continue their rapid ascent, with solar PV on track to set new record highs.
In its latest Electricity Mid-Year Update, the IEA anticipates global electricity demand to grow by around 4% in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2023. This would mark the highest annual growth rate since 2007, excluding the exceptional rebounds following the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The strong increase in global electricity consumption is expected to persist into 2025, with another growth of around 4%.
The IEA expects renewable sources of electricity to expand rapidly this year and next, with their share of global electricity supply forecast to rise from 30% in 2023 to 35% in 2025. By 2025, the amount of electricity generated from renewables worldwide is expected to surpass that from coal for the first time. Solar PV alone is anticipated to meet roughly half of the growth in global electricity demand between 2024 and 2025, with solar and wind combined meeting as much as three-quarters of the growth.
Despite the significant increases in renewables, global power generation from coal is unlikely to decline this year due to strong demand growth, particularly in China and India.
“It’s encouraging to see clean energy’s share of the electricity mix continuing to rise, but this needs to happen at a much faster rate to meet international energy and climate goals,” stated Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security.
