Independent energy think tank Ember, based in England and Wales, reported that wind and solar power generated 22% of global electricity in April, surpassing gasfired generation at 20% for the first time ever on a monthly basis.
The energy crisis in the Middle East affecting the Strait of Hormuz drove gasoline prices higher, prompting countries to shift toward wind and solar as “cheap, homegrown, and secure” alternatives for energy security.
Renewable sources generated a record 531 terawatt-hours in April, exceeding gas generation by 54 TWh, while global renewable output rose an estimated 13% year over year across major markets, Ember reported.
A terawatt-hour is a measure of energy which is equivalent to a million megawatt-hours or a billion kilowatt- hours. Ember also reported that the global share of “clean” electricity in 2025 was 43%; that last year, solar generation grew 30% and wind generation growth increased 8.2%.
Governments are ramping up renewable energy targets to reduce dependence on volatile imports, with the Global Renewables Alliance tracking expansion plans from Indonesia and South Korea targeting 100 gigawatt capacity by 2030.
This milestone reflects years of rapid renewable growth, rather than the current crisis alone, Ember noted. Combined wind and solar output has more than doubled since April 2021, when it was 245 TWh compared to 531 TWh today, Ember calculated.
Last year marked a turning point in the global power sector, Ember reported. For the first time outside of a global economic downturn, expansion of fossil fuel generation came to a halt.
“The consequences of a power system dependent on fossil fuels have never been clearer,” Ember stated. “Just as solar, wind and batteries prove their scaling power, global disruptions highlight how exposed the majority of economies are to global fossil fuel markets. The choices countries make now will define how exposed they will be to the next crisis.”
Solar power, wind and battery storage have proven to be the central technologies of this structural shift. They are now growing fast enough to meet global electricity demand growth, Ember contends. Coupled with rapidly dropping battery costs, affordable storage is unlocking the next level of solar growth, reducing price volatility and enhancing grid stability.
Front-runner markets, such as Australia and Chile, are demonstrating that the benefits of fast-scaling daytime solar power can be expanded into round-theclock clean power that is ready to deploy at scale.
Crucially, China’s world-leading scaleup of clean power has tipped the global balance from consistent fossil growth to an era of predominantly clean expansion. The signs of the underlying shift are evident: in China, efforts are underway to retrofit the existing coal fleet, enabling lower utilization so coal plants can provide flexibility rather than baseload power, in expectation of rapid renewables growth.
The remaining fossil- growth economies, like India, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia, now have the technological tools at their disposal to join in this clean growth trajectory.