QAZAQ GREEN. Clean electricity sources generated 40.9% of global power in 2024, marking a new milestone for the energy transition, according to Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2025. The report highlights that solar energy was the main driver of this progress, recording a 29% year-on-year growth — the fastest rate in six years. However, surging electricity demand, particularly during heatwaves, led to a slight increase in fossil fuel use.

Published annually, Ember’s review offers a comprehensive picture of changes in global electricity generation, based on the latest available data from 215 countries. The 2025 edition analyzes full-year 2024 figures from 88 countries that collectively represent 93% of global electricity demand.

Electricity demand rose by 4% globally in 2024, driven in part by the growing use of AI technologies, data centers, electric vehicles, and heat pumps. Yet the primary factor behind the spike was extreme weather: heatwaves pushed up air conditioning use, accounting for most of the small rise in fossil generation and contributing to record emissions in the power sector.

Solar power stood out as the engine of the global clean energy transition. Over the past three years, solar generation has doubled, adding more new electricity to the global grid than any other energy source. In 2024 alone, it was the single biggest contributor to clean power growth.

Despite the temporary rise in fossil fuel use, the data indicates that the world remains on track for an accelerated shift to clean electricity — a transition critical for achieving climate goals. Ember’s report makes all underlying data freely available, encouraging deeper analysis and collaboration across the energy sector.