Solar and Wind Beat Coal for First Time Globally

For the first time in human history, solar and wind are generating more electricity globally than coal. The milestone happened last year, powered by massive growth in countries from China to Kenya, proving that the clean energy revolution isn't just happening—it's winning.

The numbers tell an incredible story. Solar electricity alone added over 600 gigawatts of new capacity last year, with solar and wind generation growing 109% worldwide. China led the charge, but countries across every continent joined in, from Brazil and Vietnam to Kenya and Mozambique.

African nations are leaping straight to clean energy as they bring power to new regions, skipping fossil fuels entirely. It's like when many countries bypassed landlines and went straight to mobile phones, except now it's happening with electricity generation.

The money is following the momentum. Global investment in clean energy reached $2.2 trillion in 2024, including solar, wind, battery storage, grid improvements, and electric vehicles. That's double the $1.1 trillion invested in new fossil fuel projects.

Even in the United States, renewables are surging. Solar generation jumped 37% last year and wind climbed 12%, bringing renewables to 24% of total U.S. electricity. In March 2025, renewables supplied more than half of nationwide electricity generation for the first time ever.

The Bright Side

The reason for this transformation is beautifully simple: economics. Solar and wind are now cheaper than gas and coal for generating electricity, costing between four and eight cents per kilowatt-hour. Natural gas costs up to 26 cents, and coal costs even more.

These aren't subsidized prices either. Solar and wind win on cost even without government support. The price of solar generation fell 85% between 2010 and 2020, and it's still dropping.

Battery storage is solving the reliability challenge, allowing solar and wind to provide power even when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing. U.S. battery storage deployment doubled in 2024, making clean energy increasingly dependable.

Climate activist Bill McKibben calls this dramatic price drop one of the major climate developments happening right now. Solar and wind used to be called "alternative energy," but there's nothing alternative about the dominant source of new power generation worldwide.

The clean energy surge is reshaping assumptions about what's possible, proving that progress can happen faster than anyone predicted.