The Ledger · Entry 30
Wind and solar went from nothing to a sixth of the world's power
Share of the world's electricity generated by solar and wind
Data: Our World in Data, based on Ember and the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy
In 1985 solar and wind together made a rounding error's worth of the world's electricity. The panels were spacecraft hardware and the turbines were curiosities. For two decades they stayed a fraction of a percent.
The key rows
Then costs collapsed and deployment went exponential. By 2025 solar and wind generated 17.3% of all the world's electricity, and the share has been setting records almost every year. This counts only solar and wind, not older hydropower, which is why it starts from essentially nothing and climbs so steeply.
Asked often
How much of the world's electricity comes from solar and wind?
In 2025 solar and wind generated 17.3% of the world's electricity, up from effectively zero in 1985 and about 4.5% as recently as 2015.
Does this include hydropower?
No. This series counts only solar and wind, which is why it begins near zero. Older hydropower supplies a large additional share of the world's electricity.
The world also got better today.
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