The use of renewable sources is growing more and more

The global energy market changed profoundly during 2025, confirming an increasingly strong trend toward renewable energy sources. Despite a complex economic and geopolitical environment, global energy demand grew more slowly than in the past, reaching an increase of 1.3%. By contrast, electricity consumption continued to rise rapidly, driven by growing electrification, with renewable sources emerging as the leading force in the market.

By the end of 2025, the total installed renewable energy capacity worldwide had reached a record 5,149 gigawatts. During the year, 690 gigawatts of new capacity were added, marking a 15% increase compared with the previous period. This growth represents the largest annual increase ever recorded, demonstrating how the energy transition is accelerating significantly.

Renewable energy sources were responsible for nearly all of the expansion in global electricity capacity during 2025, accounting for 85% of all new installations. In this context, wind and solar power confirmed their role as the main drivers of the energy transition, together contributing 96% of newly added capacity. In other words, it is becoming increasingly evident that clean energy production is now outpacing the growth in electricity demand itself, progressively reducing the role of fossil fuels in the global energy mix.

The dominance of solar and wind power in the energy transition

Solar power remained the leading source driving the global energy transition, becoming for the first time the technology that contributed the most to the expansion of the global energy supply. In 2025, 511 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity were installed, accounting for around 75% of all new renewable energy installations during the year. Thanks to this unprecedented growth, global solar capacity reached 2,392 gigawatts, reinforcing the leadership of photovoltaics in the clean energy landscape.

Wind energy also experienced an exceptional year, reaching a new installation record with more than 158 gigawatts added. This figure represents a 14% increase compared with the previous year, bringing total global wind capacity to 1,291 gigawatts. Although offshore wind still represents a relatively small share of the total, the steady growth of this technology is making an essential contribution to the diversification of national energy systems.

In addition to solar and wind power, other technologies also made a significant contribution to the energy market, albeit on a smaller scale. Hydropower, for example, recorded an increase of 18.4 gigawatts of installed capacity compared with the previous year, while bioenergy grew by 3.4 gigawatts, driven mainly by countries such as Japan. Geothermal energy also continued to expand, adding 0.3 gigawatts of capacity thanks to new plants in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

The leading continents in the global clean energy market

Asia continues to be the main driver of the global energy transition, concentrating almost three quarters of newly installed renewable capacity in 2025. Leading this growth has been above all China, which alone contributed to the majority of new solar, wind and hydroelectric installations carried out during the year. Thanks to this expansion, the continent's total renewable capacity reached 2,891 gigawatts, equal to over 56% of the world total.

Other continents also recorded significant progress, in many cases reaching levels never seen before. Africa saw the highest growth in its history, with an increase of 15.9%, supported in particular by major projects developed in Ethiopia, South Africa and Egypt. The Middle East recorded a 28.9% increase, the highest ever observed in the region, confirming how even economies traditionally tied to hydrocarbons are accelerating investment in renewable energy to diversify their energy mix.

The expansion of renewable sources does not represent only a response to the climate crisis, but also a strategic lever to strengthen the energy security of individual countries. Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energies can be produced locally, with contained operating costs, and reduce dependence on energy imports. A system based on a plurality of clean and distributed sources across the territory is also more resilient to economic crises, supply disruptions and the geopolitical tensions that have characterised the global energy market for years.

Understanding the primacy of electricity among renewable sources

The electrification of individual economies is accelerating. Electricity consumption is growing at a significantly higher rate than overall energy demand: driving this shift are increasingly widespread technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles, destined to play a central role in the decarbonisation of consumption.

In 2025, electric car sales increased by over 20%, reaching around one in four vehicles registered globally. At the same time, storage systems continued their expansion, confirming themselves among the fastest-growing technologies in the entire energy sector. During the year, around 110 gigawatts of new battery storage capacity were installed — a result that even surpassed the record annual additions recorded in the natural gas sector.

The development of energy storage systems is essential to sustain the growth of renewable sources, as it allows the intermittency of solar and wind production to be offset and greater stability and reliability to be guaranteed to electricity grids. Despite the progress made, achieving international climate targets will require an even more marked acceleration in the coming years. According to the most widely accepted estimates, to keep global warming within the 1.5°C threshold it will be necessary to triple the installed renewable capacity. Although current growth is above the historical average, the expansion of renewable energies remains one of the main strategic priorities for governments, businesses and institutions worldwide.