India achieved the world’s third-largest increase in solar generation (+53 TWh, +37 per cent) in 2025. Capacity additions also reached a record of 38 GW(AC) in 2025, a 54 per cent increase from 2024.  | Photo Credit: REUTERS/AMIT DAVE

The global fall in fossil generation was driven by a historic reversal in fossil fuel trends in China and India, with 2025 being the first year in this century when fossil fuel generation fell in the world’s top electricity consuming centres, according to a report by energy think tank Ember.

In China, it fell by 56 terawatt hour TWh (-0.9 per cent), marking the first decline since 2015. Record clean power additions, predominantly from solar, pushed growth in low-carbon sources above demand growth.

In India, a record increase in both solar and wind generation, combined with strong hydro output and lower-than-average demand growth, led to a decline in fossil generation of 52 TWh (-3.3 per cent). This came after four years of strong fossil increases following the economic rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This structural shift is happening at a key juncture in the global energy system as the world reels from two major fossil shocks in just four years. First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and more recently, the US-Israel war with Iran, have laid bare the vulnerability of a global energy system dependent on volatile fossil fuel markets,” Ember said.

Demand slips

India’s power demand increased by 49 TWh in 2025 (+2.4 per cent y-o-y). This was less than half the demand growth of 118 TWh (+6.2 per cent) in 2024, and well below the 4.9 per cent average annual growth rate recorded in the previous decade (2015 to 2024).

India experienced very mild summer temperatures in 2025, in contrast to a record-hot 2024, leading to an estimated 32 TWh reduction in cooling demand. Industrial demand also slowed in 2025. India’s GDP growth was 6.6 per cent in 2025, similar to the 6.5 per cent growth in 2024.

India’s renewable generation grew twice as much as demand, increasing by 98 TWh in 2025. This was primarily driven by strong growth in solar (+53 TWh), followed by wind (+22 TWh) and hydro (+21 TWh). Combined, wind and solar growth reached 75 TWh, more than double the previous record of 32 TWh in 2022.

Solar grows

India achieved the world’s third-largest increase in solar generation (+53 TWh, +37 per cent) in 2025. Capacity additions also reached a record of 38 GW(AC) in 2025, a 54 per cent increase from 2024.

For the first time, India installed more solar capacity than the US in 2025. India introduced a new rooftop-PV support scheme in 2024, which continued into 2025, and has spurred faster deployment. Distributed solar accounted for an estimated 22 TWh of the 53 TWh solar increase in 2025, a significantly higher increase than in previous years.

India also recorded the world’s second-largest increase in both wind and hydro generation. Wind generation growth (+22 TWh, +28 per cent) in 2025 nearly doubled the previous record of 12 TWh in 2023. Hydro generation rebounded strongly, increasing by 21 TWh (+14 per cent) in 2025, primarily due to strong monsoon rainfall.

This followed modest growth in 2024 (+4.8 per cent) and a decline in 2023 (-15 per cent). India added 6.3 GW of wind capacity and 4 GW of hydro capacity in 2025.

India’s coal generation declined by 44 TWh (-2.9 per cent) in 2025 as a result of the surge in renewables and lower-than-average demand growth. Coal’s share of India’s electricity generation fell to 71 per cent in 2025 from 75 per cent in 2024.

Published on April 21, 2026