In 2025, renewables surpassed coal in the global power mix for the first time in over a century, according to a new report by energy think tank Ember. India and China played a pivotal role in this transformation, with electricity generated from fossil fuels falling in both countries.
However, coal still accounts for more than 70% of India’s electricity. As the war in West Asia persists and battery storage costs for solar continue to fall, Mint explores whether these factors will accelerate the transition to clean energy.
What are the report’s key findings?
Renewables contributed nearly 34% to global power generation in 2025, surpassing coal for the first time. This marked a historic shift, as renewable energy’s share rose to one-third of total power output while coal-fired generation fell below that threshold.
Solar power emerged as the primary driver of the global power sector in 2025, accounting for about 75% of the total growth in electricity demand. Combined with wind energy, renewables met nearly the entire increase in global power needs.
China and India, historically drivers of fossil fuel consumption, saw electricity generated from fossil fuels fall last year, halting its global net growth. In both countries, record clean-energy additions outpaced rising demand. This surge in solar deployment was further supported by a steady decline in battery storage costs.
How dependent is India on coal vis-à-vis solar?
India’s renewable power generation grew by 98 terrawatt hours (TWh) in 2025, nearly double the increase in power demand (49 TWh) during the year. Last year India experienced a mild summer, which led to a 32 TWh drop in cooling demand. Renewable power generation within India was driven by the growth in solar, followed by wind and hydroelectric. While India recorded the world’s third-largest increase in solar generation, capacity additions reached a record 38 gigawatts (GW), a 54% jump from 2024.
In comparison, India’s coal power generation declined by 2.9% in 2025 due to the surge in renewables and lower-than-average demand growth. As a result, the share of coal in electricity generation fell from 75% in 2024 to 71% in 2025. But India’s dependence on coal remains more than twice the global average (33%) and solar contributes less than a tenth to power generation.
Why is the share of solar so low?
That’s because solar power is an intermittent energy source as it depends on sunlight, so other sources such as coal and hydro must step in when the sun isn’t shining. Thankfully, battery storage costs fell by 45% in 2025. In future, this will allow cheap solar power to be stored and used at night. According to Ember, the cost of supplying clean power round the clock is now comparable to or lower than the tariffs for new power plants.
Will the war in West Asia hasten the adoption of clean energy?
Potentially, yes. India is heavily dependent on the import of fossil fuels such as crude oil, natural gas and coal, and the war caused prices of these to spike. For now, electricity accounts for a quarter of India’s total energy consumption, with renewables supplying a quarter of that.
In several sectors, a shift toward electrification is reducing reliance on imported fuels. For instance, transitioning from LPG to induction cooktops in homes can lower fuel imports, while electric vehicles, which closed sales of more than two million in 2025, are reducing crude oil demand. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, industries accounting for 42% of total electricity consumption can replace fossil fuels by adopting electric boilers and furnaces.
What is India’s renewable energy target?
India had aimed to reach 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, but achieved this five years ahead of schedule. It now aims to achieve 60% of power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2035, as per its updated climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
However, data shows that renewables still account for less than a quarter of the country’s total electricity generation. As of December 2025, India’s installed renewable capacity was 251 GW, the third largest worldwide after China (2258 GW) and the US (468 GW). India’s installed solar capacity has increased 53-fold since 2014, from a mere 2.8 GW in March 2014 to 147 GW in March 2026, according to the ministry of new and renewable energy.