The defining change in global energy markets in 2025 was that solar PV, for the first time on record, became the single largest contributor to energy demand growth. Global energy demand grew by 1.3% over the year, with solar PV accounting for 27% of that increase, ahead of natural gas, oil, and coal. These reordering signals that low-emissions energy sources are no longer merely supplementing supply, they are beginning to absorb a dominant share of incremental global energy demand.
Sources of Global Energy Demand Growth, 2025
Share of total growth in global energy demand contributed by each source
Source: IEA, Global Energy Review 2026.
Breaking down by source, natural gas contributed 17% of global energy demand growth in 2025, followed by oil at 15%, solid bioenergy and waste at 13%, wind and coal each at 9%, nuclear at 5%, other renewables at 3%, and liquid biofuels at 2%.
Demand for all three fossil fuels continued to grow, yet low-emissions sources combined accounted for nearly 60% of total energy demand growth. This means that beyond the frontrunner solar PV, wind, nuclear, other renewables, solid bioenergy, and liquid biofuels collectively pushed low-emissions energy into a leading position in the demand growth mix.
Electricity demand: deep electrification of end-use consumption
Global electricity demand grew by around 3% in 2025, well above the 1.3% growth rate of overall energy demand, roughly 2.3 times faster. This confirms that energy consumption is increasingly concentrated at the point of electricity use, spanning industrial processes, building operations, household appliances, commercial facilities, and the electrification of transport. Electricity's share in the final energy mix continues to rise.
Electricity Demand Growth Outpaces Overall Energy Demand
Year-on-year growth rate, 2025
Source: IEA, Global Energy Review 2026.
It is important not to reduce electricity demand growth to a story about AI data centres or electric vehicles. While electricity consumption from EVs and data centres grew by 38% and 17% respectively in 2025 — both striking rates — their shares of total electricity demand growth remained relatively small. The broad base of global electricity demand growth still came from buildings, industry, and commercial activity.
The United States stands out as a notable exception. In 2025, data centres accounted for roughly half of US electricity demand growth, reflecting the more direct impact of AI infrastructure on the American power system. At the global level, however, data centres are not yet a primary driver of electricity demand growth.
