The world used more energy than ever before in 2025 but the biggest story was not oil or gas. It was solar.
New analysis from the International Energy Agency’s Global Energy Review 2026 shows global energy demand rose by 1.3% last year despite economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and slowing growth in some major economies.
Fossil fuels still dominate the global system with oil gas and coal accounting for almost 80% of total energy supply.
But the pace of change is accelerating as renewables and nuclear met nearly 60% of all new energy demand growth in 2025.
Solar PV was the standout performer.
For the first time on record a modern renewable technology provided the largest share of global energy demand growth. Solar alone accounted for 27% of additional demand last year ahead of natural gas on 17%.
The report said the shift was most visible in electricity markets where global power demand jumped by 3% — more than double the growth rate of overall energy demand.
Renewables led almost all of that expansion driven by another huge surge in solar installations worldwide. Electricity generation from coal and oil fell while gas generation increased modestly.
The IEA said renewable electricity generation has now effectively caught up with coal globally.
“Solar PV accounted for over a quarter of all of the world’s energy demand growth — more than any other source for the first time,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in the report earlier this year.
The findings underline how rapidly the global electricity system is changing even while fossil fuels remain deeply embedded in the wider economy.
The report also points to the growing role of electrification in transport buildings and industry with electric vehicles, data centres and cooling demand, all driving power consumption higher.
The transition is far from complete but the direction of travel is becoming harder to ignore.
Coal may still dominate much of the global power system and oil remains king in transport – but solar is now the fastest-growing force in global energy.
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