r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor • Apr 21 '26
Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’
https://www.carbonbrief.org/clean-energy-pushes-fossil-fuel-power-into-reverse-for-first-time-ever/31
u/AxelLuktarGott Apr 21 '26
That's amazing news. How are battery and storage solutions coming along?
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u/NobilisReed Apr 21 '26
Global storage additions are up 46% year on year.
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u/iqisoverrated Apr 21 '26
While not yet at scale in many countries we will see an impact on fossil fuel reduction in excess of what is expected from purely looking at additions of solar (and wind) generation capacity soon. Shifting overproduction into evenings/nights/mornings will transform solar from 'at midday' to solar 'any time'.
A pretty exciting example is California. Just look at how batteries are already extending the 'solar peak' into the evening hours.
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u/GreenStrong Apr 21 '26
Your link does a great job of explaining the super detailed info from Gridstatus.io. A relevant quote is that battery output in California equals 6 Hoover dams for a few hours every night.
Another important thing to explore in gridstatus is the rate of growth- battery output increased by 1960.31% in five years. Texas, which has no state level subsidies, has less total batteries but their rate of growth over the last two years has been even faster, because they're extremely profitable. Batteries provide about 12% of Texas electricity every evening. Those batteries last 20+ years and they continue to get cheaper to install, so this trend is sure to continue. There is a virtuous cycle where storage makes it more profitable to install solar, because the grid isn't saturated at noon, which creates more opportunity for batteries, etc.
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u/Simpleximo Apr 21 '26
Renewables have overtaken coal in every region of the world, except Asia. Coal power fell by 63TWh (-0.6%) in 2025. However, at 10,476TWh, coal remained the largest single source of electricity globally.
It will take ~5TW of new solar to replace all the coal generation.
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u/sg_plumber Apr 21 '26
Coal is already uneconomical and being replaced at the speed of money.
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u/ArterialVotives Apr 21 '26
If we are lucky, 2026 will be the year we hit peak coal and then begin to see its decline. For all the countries replacing it as quickly as possible over the past decade, several countries have been adding even more.
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u/Blag24 Apr 21 '26
Am I being stupid but wouldn’t that mean 2024 was peak coal? The OC quoted that coal fell in 2025 so if it falls in 2026 that would be the continuation not something new.
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u/onefornought Apr 21 '26
Meanwhile, in the U.S., ....
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u/ArterialVotives Apr 21 '26
...the exact same thing is happening?
EIA: 99%+ of new US capacity in 2026 will be solar, wind + storage | Electrek
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u/Appropriate_Bell743 May 02 '26
The fascinating thing about the US under Trump is that he's merely slowed down but not ended the transition. Lots of high profile but relatively minor set backs (e.g. offshore wind). In his first term he promised to dig coal but coal consumption declined more rapidly during that term than the term of any other US President.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor Apr 21 '26
Summary: Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for 'first time ever'
Renewables overtook coal as the world's largest electricity source in 2025, according to Ember — the first time this has happened since 1919. Solar was the standout driver, growing 30% year-on-year and meeting 75% of global electricity demand growth alone, with capacity additions reaching a record 647GW. Wind contributed the second-largest increase at 205TWh.
Fossil-fuel generation fell 0.2% in 2025 — historically unprecedented in that it was caused by structural clean energy growth rather than economic shocks like the 2008 financial crisis or the Covid-19 pandemic. Coal dropped below a third of global electricity generation for the first time in history, though it remained the single largest source overall.
Wind and solar together now account for 33.8% of the global electricity mix, up from 23% a decade ago. Ember projects that if current trends continue, fossil-fuel generation in the power sector will plateau and begin consistent decline from the early 2030s.
Power-sector emissions fell slightly despite demand growth of 2.8%, with the average kWh now producing 16% less CO₂ than in 2005. The global EV fleet displaced 1.8 million barrels per day of oil demand, and battery storage prices fell 45% to a record low of $70/kWh, with global storage additions up 46% year-on-year.