Key facts
- Solar power generated more electricity than wind power globally in 2025.
- Renewables accounted for 33.4% of worldwide electricity generation in 2025.
- Solar generation saw a 30.1% increase in 2025, compared to 8.2% for wind.
- China leads in both solar and wind electricity generation, producing 42% of the global total for each.
- Hydropower remains the largest renewable source, but solar is the fastest-growing.
Solar power has surpassed wind power as a source of global electricity generation for the first time in 2025, according to the latest Statistical Review of World Energy. This milestone reflects the dramatic shift in the renewable energy landscape, with solar generation surging by 30.1% in 2025, significantly outpacing wind's 8.2% growth.
Worldwide electricity generation reached approximately 32,202 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025, with renewables contributing 10,749 TWh, or 33.4% of the total. Hydropower remained the largest renewable source at 4,479 TWh (13.9%), while solar generated 2,811 TWh (8.7%) and wind produced 2,714 TWh (8.4%).
The acceleration in solar capacity is particularly notable. In 2015, wind generation was more than three times that of solar. By 2025, solar output had increased nearly elevenfold to 2,811 TWh, surpassing wind's more than threefold increase to 2,714 TWh. Solar accounted for 71% of the increase in renewable energy supply during 2025.
China leads globally in both solar and wind generation, producing 1,173 TWh of solar electricity (42% of the global total) and 1,128 TWh of wind electricity (also 42% of the global total) in 2025. The U.S. ranked second in solar generation with 393 TWh, followed by India (169 TWh), Japan (111 TWh), and Germany (92 TWh). In wind generation, the U.S. was second with 469 TWh, followed by Germany (134 TWh), Brazil (116 TWh), and India (104 TWh).