Global renewables output exceeds coal in H1 2025, coal rebounds in US – report

Coal-fired generation in the US grew during the first half of 2025, bucking the global trend of falling fossil fuel use in the power sector, according to a study released Oct. 7.

During the first half of 2025, renewables generated more power than coal globally and increases in solar and wind generation outpaced global electricity demand growth, according to think tank Ember's Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025.

But in the US, new solar and wind generation could not keep pace with the nation's growing power demand, meeting only 65% of the 76-TWh demand increase. That gap was largely filled with an increase in coal-fired generation.

US power demand accounted for 15% of global electricity demand and 12% of global power sector CO₂ emissions, the report said.

During the same period, US solar generation increased by 44 TWh, wind generation increased by 5 TWh, hydro generation grew by 5 TWh, and nuclear output fell by 5.2 TWh.

Globally, fossil fuel-fired power generation declined slightly. Fossil fuel generation fell in China and India but grew in the EU and the US, according to the report. US fossil fuel generation increased by 18 TWh during the period, pushing sector emissions up 4.3%.

The US power sector's carbon footprint shrank 31% between 2005 and 2024, but Ember data suggests progress may be slowing.

An ongoing build-out of natural gas-fired generation is contributing to a rise in emissions, Nicolas Fulghum, an Ember senior data analyst, said in a September email to Platts, a part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Coal generation increased by 51 TWh during the first half of 2025, compared with a 3.5-TWh increase in the year-ago period. This resulted in coal’s share of the US electricity generation mix rising year over year to 16.2% from 14.4%.

Natural gas generation declined by 34 TWh in this year's first half, compared with a 44 TWh increase a year ago. Natural gas generation in the first half was 37.9% of the generation mix compared to 40.6% in the first six months of 2024.

The report attributed the gas-to-coal switching partly to higher natural gas prices.

The Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress have been working to dismantle policies that transition the US away from fossil fuels.

Globally, solar and wind generation growth outpaced electricity demand growth. Global electricity demand grew by 369 TWh during the first half of 2025, while solar generation grew by a record 306 TWh and wind generation grew by 97 TWh.

Solar generation met 83% of increases in power demand, with some countries setting new records. China accounted for 55% of global solar generation growth in 2024, and the US accounted for 14%.