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Built 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026)

Wind and solar together passed nuclear in generation, 2021: World Electricity Milestones

Wind and solar together passed nuclear in generation worldwide in 2021. World coal generation reached its record in 2024. All figures are Ember annual statistics through 2025.

Milestones, through 2025

World, annual
World electricity milestones through 2025
MilestoneWhenDetail
Wind and solar together passed nuclear in generation2021In 2021: 2,910 TWh against 2,761 TWh. In 2025: 5,485 TWh against 2,809 TWh.
Solar capacity passed coal capacity2025In 2025: 2,391 GW of solar against 2,242 GW of coal. Capacity is what is installed, not what it generates.
Solar has not yet passed nuclearNot yetIn 2025, solar generated 2,781 TWh and nuclear 2,809 TWh.
Wind has not yet passed nuclearNot yetIn 2025, wind generated 2,704 TWh and nuclear 2,809 TWh.
Solar has not yet passed coalNot yetIn 2025, solar generated 2,781 TWh and coal 10,482 TWh.
Wind has not yet passed coalNot yetIn 2025, wind generated 2,704 TWh and coal 10,482 TWh.
Solar has not yet passed gasNot yetIn 2025, solar generated 2,781 TWh and gas 6,937 TWh.
Wind has not yet passed gasNot yetIn 2025, wind generated 2,704 TWh and gas 6,937 TWh.
Wind and solar together have not yet passed coalNot yetIn 2025, wind and solar together generated 5,485 TWh and coal 10,482 TWh.
Coal generation record202410,546 TWh in 2024. In 2025 it was 10,482 TWh, 99% of the record.
Gas generation record20256,937 TWh in 2025, the highest in the data, which runs from 2000.
Nuclear generation record20252,809 TWh in 2025, the highest in the data, which runs from 2000.
Power sector emissions record202414,571 MtCO2 in 2024; 14,545 MtCO2 in 2025.
Lowest world carbon intensity2025459 gCO2/kWh in 2025, the lowest in the data, which runs from 2000.

World totals from Ember's World region, annual statistics 2000 to 2025. A crossover counts when the first source was at or below the second and is above it in 2025.

World Generation by Source

2000 to 2025
World electricity generation by source World electricity generation by source, 2000 to 2025. Solar ends at 2,781 TWh; Wind ends at 2,704 TWh; Nuclear ends at 2,809 TWh; Coal ends at 10,482 TWh; Gas ends at 6,937 TWh. 0 3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000 200020052010201520202025
World electricity generation by source, 2000 to 2025. Solar ends at 2,781 TWh; Wind ends at 2,704 TWh; Nuclear ends at 2,809 TWh; Coal ends at 10,482 TWh; Gas ends at 6,937 TWh.
Annual statistics, 2000 to 2025
World electricity generation by source
YearSolarWindNuclearCoalGas
20001.02 TWh31.2 TWh2,540 TWh5,809 TWh2,746 TWh
20011.36 TWh38.2 TWh2,613 TWh5,891 TWh2,915 TWh
20021.72 TWh52.2 TWh2,655 TWh6,144 TWh3,105 TWh
20032.12 TWh63.2 TWh2,601 TWh6,575 TWh3,256 TWh
20042.78 TWh85.5 TWh2,719 TWh6,797 TWh3,503 TWh
20053.96 TWh104 TWh2,727 TWh7,167 TWh3,681 TWh
20065.42 TWh133 TWh2,762 TWh7,567 TWh3,901 TWh
20077.30 TWh171 TWh2,703 TWh8,052 TWh4,219 TWh
200811.9 TWh221 TWh2,695 TWh8,074 TWh4,361 TWh
200919.8 TWh276 TWh2,657 TWh7,951 TWh4,382 TWh
201032.2 TWh346 TWh2,726 TWh8,468 TWh4,808 TWh
201163.6 TWh440 TWh2,610 TWh8,922 TWh4,866 TWh
201296.9 TWh529 TWh2,432 TWh8,972 TWh5,161 TWh
2013132 TWh634 TWh2,449 TWh9,437 TWh5,058 TWh
2014198 TWh706 TWh2,499 TWh9,619 TWh5,214 TWh
2015256 TWh830 TWh2,533 TWh9,296 TWh5,540 TWh
2016327 TWh960 TWh2,571 TWh9,337 TWh5,850 TWh
2017445 TWh1,139 TWh2,594 TWh9,668 TWh5,973 TWh
2018575 TWh1,268 TWh2,659 TWh10,045 TWh6,224 TWh
2019698 TWh1,421 TWh2,754 TWh9,836 TWh6,381 TWh
2020853 TWh1,591 TWh2,649 TWh9,445 TWh6,361 TWh
20211,054 TWh1,856 TWh2,761 TWh10,169 TWh6,534 TWh
20221,335 TWh2,106 TWh2,640 TWh10,271 TWh6,572 TWh
20231,670 TWh2,317 TWh2,698 TWh10,419 TWh6,660 TWh
20242,155 TWh2,503 TWh2,777 TWh10,546 TWh6,826 TWh
20252,781 TWh2,704 TWh2,809 TWh10,482 TWh6,937 TWh

Key Facts

  • Wind and solar together passed nuclear in generation: 2021. In 2021: 2,910 TWh against 2,761 TWh. In 2025: 5,485 TWh against 2,809 TWh.
  • Solar capacity passed coal capacity: 2025. In 2025: 2,391 GW of solar against 2,242 GW of coal. Capacity is what is installed, not what it generates.
  • Solar has not yet passed nuclear: Not yet. In 2025, solar generated 2,781 TWh and nuclear 2,809 TWh.
  • Wind has not yet passed nuclear: Not yet. In 2025, wind generated 2,704 TWh and nuclear 2,809 TWh.
  • Solar has not yet passed coal: Not yet. In 2025, solar generated 2,781 TWh and coal 10,482 TWh.
  • Wind has not yet passed coal: Not yet. In 2025, wind generated 2,704 TWh and coal 10,482 TWh.

Source: Ember (ember-energy.org), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Data as of 2025. Annual statistics from Ember.