In 2025, more solar and wind power plants were built than ever before
Wind and solar energy continue to be massively expanded worldwide. Over 800 gigawatts were newly installed last year.
(Image: Soonthorn Wongsaita / Shutterstock.com)
The expansion of renewable energies continues unabated. Last year, according to a study by the British think tank Ember Energy, more wind and solar power plants were built than ever before.
In total, 814 gigawatts of solar and wind power capacity were installed worldwide in 2025, Ember Energy announced. Together, the newly installed plants can produce 1.046 petawatt-hours of clean electricity, according to Ember Energy.
The expansion in 2025 was the largest in any single year to date. In 2024, 696 gigawatts were installed; the growth in 2025 compared to 2024 corresponds to 17 percent. Solar energy accounted for the larger share: in 2025, 647 gigawatts of solar capacity were installed, an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year (582 gigawatts). Wind energy added 167 gigawatts, compared to 113 gigawatts in the previous year, which corresponds to an increase of 47 percent compared to 2024.
Over four terawatts of wind and solar power
In total, 4.174 terawatts of wind and solar energy are now available. These are distributed among approximately 1.3 gigawatts of wind and approximately 2.9 gigawatts of solar capacity. In October of last year, Ember Energy reported that in the first half of 2025, wind and solar power plants supplied more electricity than coal-fired power plants for the first time. In the European Union, in 2025 – despite partly unfavorable weather conditions, more electricity was generated from wind and solar energy than from all fossil fuels combined for the first time.
For comparison: In Germany, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), there was an installed capacity of 68.1 gigawatts for wind energy and 116.8 gigawatts for solar energy available at the end of 2025.
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In wind energy, the expansion target for 2025 was missed by 8.4 gigawatts. For solar installations, approximately 16.2 gigawatts were added in 2025. To achieve the climate target, this expansion must be increased to 22 gigawatts in 2026.
(wpl)
