Solar Power Crushed Gas Growth 17x in 2025

The world's electricity systems just hit a turning point that most people missed: solar power is demolishing natural gas as the fuel of choice for new energy.

In 2025, solar generation grew by 636 terawatt-hours while gas added just 38 terawatt-hours. That means solar outpaced gas by 17 to 1, supplying roughly three-quarters of all new electricity demand globally while gas contributed only 5%.

The shift is happening faster than anyone predicted. A new report from climate think tank Ember found that 61 out of 124 gas-generating countries have already passed their peak gas generation, including economic powerhouses like the UK, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Gas is losing ground not just on environmental concerns, but on the metrics that once made it attractive: cost and reliability. Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed how vulnerable countries become when they rely on imported fossil fuels, triggering massive price spikes that pushed nations to speed up renewable deployment.

"Countries are increasingly turning to renewables because they are domestically available, more price stable, and faster to deploy," said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, senior electricity analyst at Ember. Recent disruptions in Middle East LNG markets have only reinforced that lesson.

The most surprising winners are major developing economies that experts once assumed would burn massive amounts of gas. China, India, and Brazil accounted for 42% of global electricity demand in 2025, but all three kept gas use remarkably low.

India's gas share dropped from 12.6% in 2010 to just 2.3% last year. Brazil cut its gas reliance nearly in half over the past decade. China maintained gas at around 3% of its electricity mix despite enormous growth in power demand.

These countries are essentially leapfrogging the gas era entirely, jumping straight to solar and wind the way many skipped landline phones and went directly to mobile.

The Ripple Effect

This transformation is reshaping global energy security and economics at lightning speed. As renewables scale up, countries gain energy independence while cutting costs and emissions simultaneously.

Among G7 nations, gas generation fell by 50 terawatt-hours in 2025 while renewables grew by 123 terawatt-hours. Renewables now generate almost as much electricity as gas across these wealthy nations, helping clean power overtake fossil generation overall.

The economics tell the story: solar and wind protect countries from fuel price shocks and geopolitical chaos while delivering electricity that gets cheaper every year instead of more expensive. Gas grew at about half the pace between 2021 and 2025 compared to the previous five years, showing how quickly the transition is accelerating.

With nearly half of gas-generating economies already past peak and solar costs continuing to fall, the world may be approaching global peak gas generation sooner than anyone imagined just a few years ago.