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Solar + wind were 99% of new generation capacity last year. Fossil fuel usage dropped for one of the first times ever. Renewables generated more than coal. Sol

Solar + wind were 99% of new generation capacity last year. Fossil fuel usage dropped for one of the first times ever. Renewables generated more than coal. Solar installation is huge and the increase continues to accelerate. Every year has seen a record amount of installed solar. Solar started at zero two decades ago and is already curbing other sources.

thelastgallon 1mo ago
That 99% may be just Australia and not the entire world? There seems to be a ton of new coal and gas plants still coming online, 95% of them in China and India. 100 GW of new coal plants and 100 GW of gas. There are probably ~1000 gas plants in the pipeline just in US for data centers. And a ton more onsite gas turbines, like Musks Colossus DC, 1GW of compute powered by gas turbines. From: https://www.carbonbrief.org/new-coal-plants-hit-10-year-global-high-in-2025-but-power-output-still-fell https://www.carbonbrief.org/new-coal-plants-hit-10-year-glob... > In 2025, coal-capacity growth hit a 10-year high, with 97 gigawatts (GW) of new power > The number of new coal-fired power plants built around the world hit a “10-year high” in 2025 > It adds that 95% of the new coal plants were built in India and China. > 70% of the coal-fired units scheduled to retire globally in 2025 did not do so
- 0cf8612b2e1e 1mo ago
  Even the title and first line of that article supports my point, “New coal plants hit ‘10-year’ global high in 2025 – but power output still fell”. Coal capacity is increasing, but it is not being used. Mostly China is constructing new plants but leaving them idle. Check the Ember 2026 report for all the global details: ..In another global milestone, renewables overtook coal power in 2025. Solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources together contributed more than a third of global electricity generation for the first time in the modern power system. Conversely, the share of coal power fell below a third for the first time in history. .. Driven by record solar growth, low-carbon power generation increased by 887 TWh in 2025, outpacing electricity demand growth of 849 TWh. Solar power alone met 75% of the net increase in electricity demand. Together with wind, the two sources met almost all (99%) demand growth. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and only the fifth time this century, fossil generation did not rise, recording a small fall of 38 TWh (-0.2%). Also, a whole 200GW new coal+gas capacity in the pipeline! OMG! In 2025, the world installed 647GW of solar capacity, generating 2778 TWh. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/ https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-...
apothegm 1mo ago
The trouble is that we’re adding renewables to add capacity, not as a way to bring significant amounts of fossil fuel capacity offline.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 1mo ago
  I assure you, it is not performative. While solar is the fastest growing energy source in human history, it still takes time to replace a century of existing infrastructure. Despite rising electricity demand, so much solar has already been installed that fossil fuel generation decreased last year. Renewables now generate more total energy than coal. This will only continue as more solar + batteries come online. Thanks to Iran, renewable projects are getting fast tracked globally to reduce the dependence on foreign energy.

thelastgallon 1mo ago

That 99% may be just Australia and not the entire world? There seems to be a ton of new coal and gas plants still coming online, 95% of them in China and India. 100 GW of new coal plants and 100 GW of gas. There are probably ~1000 gas plants in the pipeline just in US for data centers. And a ton more onsite gas turbines, like Musks Colossus DC, 1GW of compute powered by gas turbines. From: https://www.carbonbrief.org/new-coal-plants-hit-10-year-global-high-in-2025-but-power-output-still-fell https://www.carbonbrief.org/new-coal-plants-hit-10-year-glob... > In 2025, coal-capacity growth hit a 10-year high, with 97 gigawatts (GW) of new power > The number of new coal-fired power plants built around the world hit a “10-year high” in 2025 > It adds that 95% of the new coal plants were built in India and China. > 70% of the coal-fired units scheduled to retire globally in 2025 did not do so

0cf8612b2e1e 1mo ago
Even the title and first line of that article supports my point, “New coal plants hit ‘10-year’ global high in 2025 – but power output still fell”. Coal capacity is increasing, but it is not being used. Mostly China is constructing new plants but leaving them idle. Check the Ember 2026 report for all the global details: ..In another global milestone, renewables overtook coal power in 2025. Solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources together contributed more than a third of global electricity generation for the first time in the modern power system. Conversely, the share of coal power fell below a third for the first time in history. .. Driven by record solar growth, low-carbon power generation increased by 887 TWh in 2025, outpacing electricity demand growth of 849 TWh. Solar power alone met 75% of the net increase in electricity demand. Together with wind, the two sources met almost all (99%) demand growth. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and only the fifth time this century, fossil generation did not rise, recording a small fall of 38 TWh (-0.2%). Also, a whole 200GW new coal+gas capacity in the pipeline! OMG! In 2025, the world installed 647GW of solar capacity, generating 2778 TWh. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/ https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-...

apothegm 1mo ago

The trouble is that we’re adding renewables to add capacity, not as a way to bring significant amounts of fossil fuel capacity offline.

0cf8612b2e1e 1mo ago
I assure you, it is not performative. While solar is the fastest growing energy source in human history, it still takes time to replace a century of existing infrastructure. Despite rising electricity demand, so much solar has already been installed that fossil fuel generation decreased last year. Renewables now generate more total energy than coal. This will only continue as more solar + batteries come online. Thanks to Iran, renewable projects are getting fast tracked globally to reduce the dependence on foreign energy.