Through September, the two clean-energy sources outpaced growth in power demand. That trend needs to accelerate for the world to phase out fossil fuels.
By Dan McCarthy | Canary Media | November 28, 2025
The world is clamoring for more electrons. It’s getting them from solar and wind. Between January and September, the two clean-energy sources grew fast enough to more than offset all new demand worldwide, according to data from energy research firm Ember.
Power demand rose by 603 terawatt-hours compared to that same time period last year. Solar met nearly all that new demand on its own, increasing by 498 TWh. Wind generation, meanwhile, climbed by 137 TWh. What happens when clean energy not only meets but exceeds new power demand? We start to burn less fossil fuels.
