Reliable, affordable electricity is essential for many of the products and services that underpin the modern economy. But the sources of that electricity — and their respective merits and risks — are increasingly the subject of debate and polarization.A flood of narratives and counternarratives is rising in the media and public conversation about the reliability and affordability of renewables, as well as their impacts on the economy, jobs and communities. These mixed messages can make it hard to get the accurate information people need as they face important decisions about how they live, spend or vote.Here, we answer some common questions about renewable electricity, using the latest evidence, data and research.1) What exactly is renewable electricity?Renewable electricity is power generated from naturally replenishing energy sources, including solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass.Solar and wind are considered ‘variable,’ in that their output depends on weather, time of day and season. Hydropower, geothermal and biomass are considered ‘firm,’ in that their output is reliably available on demand (although no power plant, whether it uses fossil fuels or renewables, is always available). Experience and modeling show that electricity grids can be reliable, affordable and clean (low-carbon) by combining high volumes of variable and firm renewables with energy storage and other low-carbon generating sources.2) How much electricity comes from renewables vs. fossil fuels?Renewables accounted for around 34% of global electricity generation in 2025, with 15% from hydropower, 8% from wind and 7% from solar. Wind and solar have grown significantly since 2015, when their shares in global electricity generation were only 3.4% and 1%, respectively.Still, having been in use for more than a century, fossil fuels remain the dominant electricity generation source globally. They account for nearly 60% of the world’s electricity, primarily from coal (35%) and natural gas (22%). 3) How fast is renewable electricity growing?Renewable electricity is not just growing — it’s skyrocketing. Solar and wind deployment in particular are expanding faster than any other electricity sources.Renewable capacityThe growth trajectory is most evident in new capacity additions. In 2025, over 85% of new global electricity generation capacity came from renewables. The total global renewable electricity generation capacity has grown nearly 7-fold in the past 25 years, from 764 gigawatts (GW) in 2000 to 5,149 GW by 2025. Growth in 2025 set a record, with renewable capacity growing by 15.5%, adding an additional 629 GW within a single year. Renewable generationBeyond installed capacity, it is important to understand how much electricity is actually generated. Electricity generated from solar and wind has increased more than 11-fold and more than 3-fold, respectively, between 2015 and 2025. In comparison, electricity generation from all fossil fuels increased only 14% during the same period.Notably, 2025 marked the first year in over a century that electricity generated from renewable sources exceeded that from coal, the largest fossil fuel source. This signals a structural shift in the global electricity mix. Solar has been the fastest-growing electricity source over the past eight years, roughly doubling every three years. In 2025, it posted a record increase of 600 terrawatt-hours (TWh), bringing total solar electricity generation to nearly 2,700 TWh. Together, solar and wind met 90% of global electricity demand growth in 2025, with solar accounting for 75% of that increase. Meanwhile, total electricity generation from fossil fuels declined slightly for the first time in 2025, by 0.2%.Battery storageBattery storage capacity has also grown exponentially. New capacity additions in 2025 were more than 150 times higher than they were a decade ago. Batteries allow solar and wind to deliver more value to grids, since they can store and provide energy for times when the wind isn’t blowing and sun isn’t shining. Electricity generated from wind turbines has increased 3-fold from 2015-2025. Photo by zhu difeng/Shutterstock 4) What’s behind the growth in renewables, and will it continue?Solar and wind are likely to continue growing fast and are expected to account for almost all new renewable capacity additions through 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). IEA estimates that solar and wind will account for 30% of global generation in 2030, nearly double their current share.The three main drivers are cost decreases, enabling government policies and corporate purchasing.Cost decreasesThe cost of electricity from some renewable sources has fallen dramatically over the past decade. One way of assessing energy costs is to look at the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), which, roughly speaking, is the average cost of electricity from a power plant over its lifetime. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the LCOE for utility-scale solar power and onshore wind dropped 90% and 70%, respectively between 2010 and 2024.This dramatic decline in solar and wind costs has been reinforced by rapid improvements and falling costs in battery storage technologies. Battery storage is a key integration strategy to bring the variable output of solar and wind into the electric grid while maintaining reliability (more on this later). BloombergNEF’s data shows that the global LCOE for four-hour battery storage — meaning the cost of a battery that can hold and discharge four hours of electricity — is $78 per megawatt-hour (MWh), having declined 90% from 2012-2025.Altogether, the combination of maturing technologies, larger project scales and reduced operating expenses has made renewable electricity a low-cost option for many regions of the world, while offering greater price stability compared to fossil fuel generation since solar and wind have no fuel costs. PoliciesGovernment policies are another driver of growth in renewable electricity. IEA reports that more than 130 governments have policies that encourage the deployment of solar, wind and other renewables. These range from subsidies and other financial incentives, to purchasing targets (such as Renewable Portfolio Standards), to carbon pricing policies that raise the cost of fossil generation.These policies help to overcome lock-in by fossil fuels, many of which have benefited from decades of supportive policies. The International Monetary Fund estimated that in 2024, governments provided over $700 billion in explicit subsidies for fossil fuels, or 0.6% of global GDP. While many subsidies are directly for consumers for things like transportation or cooking fuels, governments also subsidize the coal, oil and gas industries directly. For example, the U.S. government has recognized 16 tax measures benefiting upstream fossil fuels, with the largest exceeding $1 billion annually for oil and gas. These have been in the U.S. tax code for over 35 years, with one coal tax benefit dating back to 1918.Corporate purchasingCorporations are increasingly motivated by the cost-saving benefits of renewable electricity, as well as their own voluntary commitments to decarbonize. Hundreds of firms have pledged and achieved the goal of using 100% renewable electricity through alliances such as RE100. Large buyers such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft are driving roughly half of corporate purchases of renewables, accounting for about 27 GW of new solar and wind capacity in 2025.Cost decreases, supportive policies and corporate interest are likely to spur strong growth in renewable generation for years to come. IEA projects that renewable electricity will grow by about 1,000 TWh annually through 2030, or 8% per year. 5) Can renewables provide reliable power even at times when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing?Solar and wind generation are variable, driven by daily and seasonal weather patterns. However, power systems have successfully integrated large volumes of solar and wind generation into reliable, affordable grids. Grids can incorporate an increasing share of variable generation through ‘integration strategies’ such as:Transmission lines can aggregate power generated by solar and wind over broad geographic areas, thus balancing variability over the area by extending power from sunnier areas to places with cloud cover.Storage technologies can save power during periods of ample generation for use during times of low generation. For example, solar generated during the day can be stored in a battery for use in the evening.Demand management measures can shift electricity use from times of low renewable generation to times of ample generation. This could include scheduling EV charging for times when prices are low because renewable supplies are abundant.Flexible and back-up generation can step in when solar and wind generation are low. Ideally this generation should be clean (zero- or low-carbon), firm (not weather-dependent) power. Clean, firm power options include geothermal, hydropower, nuclear and fossil generation with carbon capture and storage.6) Can renewables help make electricity affordable?Electricity prices in any specific country reflect a wide range of factors, including existing investments in generation, transmission and distribution; the cost and availability of fuels; and a wide array of policies (regulatory, tax, market design, etc.). The affordability of electricity has become a central issue across the globe, especially as energy demand grows for data centers, transport, cooling and other uses.Renewable electricity can help keep power bills affordable because solar and wind, often paired with storage, are the lowest-cost sources of new supply in many regions of the world. They have much lower operating costs than fossil fuel alternatives because they have no fuel cost and can be deployed quickly. This cost advantage is one of the key drivers behind IEA projections that solar and wind generation will grow faster than conventional generation from now to 2030.7) Are renewables still cleaner than fossil fuels when you look at greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across their entire lifecycle?Renewable electricity sources have far lower GHG emissions over their entire lifecycle than fossil fuel power plants. While fossil generators produce most of their climate impact during fuel combustion — and contribute additional emissions through raw material extraction, fuel processing, power plant construction, operation and decommissioning — renewables avoid the vast majority of these carbon‑intensive steps. As a result, sources like wind power carry only a small fraction of the lifecycle carbon footprint associated with coal or natural gas, making them much cleaner options for electricity generation overall.According to a 2021 assessment by the National Laboratory of the Rockies, the median amount of greenhouse gases emitted per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by wind is 13 grams (g CO2e/kWh) and solar PV is 43 g CO2e/kWh. Meanwhile, coal is about 1,001 g CO2e/kWh and natural gas is 486 g CO2/kWh. The lifecycle emissions of wind and solar are almost entirely attributable to emissions associated with their raw materials and manufacturing, which will likely decline further as industrial processes and transportation decarbonize. 8) Beyond lower costs and emissions, what are some of the other advantages of renewable electricity?There are lots of ways renewable electricity offers advantages over fossil fuels beyond just costs and climate impact, including:National securityThe current energy crisis spurred by the war on Iran underscores the risks of relying on globally traded and unevenly distributed fossil resources. Fossil fuels are heavily concentrated in a few countries, whereas every nation on Earth has sunlight and wind, and many have hydro and geothermal resources. Expanding renewable electricity deployment can therefore strengthen national energy security and decrease exposure to global fossil fuel price volatility. Some countries are already realizing this benefit. For example, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the European Union recognized the security risk of its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Russia supplied 45% of the E.U.’s natural gas, 27% of its crude oil, and 50% of its coal before the Ukraine war. In response, the E.U. launched its REPowerEU plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels by accelerating its renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency and energy supply diversification.Water conservationConventional thermal power plants such as coal, natural gas and nuclear facilities require large volumes of water for cooling. Studies from the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimate that coal-fired power plants in the U.S. need to withdraw more than 21,000 gallons of water to generate 1 MWh of electricity, while natural gas-fired generation needs 2,793 gallons per MWh. Meanwhile, solar panels and wind turbines require little to no water for cooling and maintenance. For example, the Solar Energy Industries Association estimated that solar panels use approximately 20 gallons per MWh for cleaning. Using solar instead of fossil fuels can therefore significantly reduce water use in regions experiencing high levels of water stress.Public health benefits and improved air qualityResearch published in 2023 in the British Medical Journal showed that an estimated 5.13 million excess deaths per year globally are attributable to ambient air pollution from fossil fuel use. Renewable electricity can help reduce air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to improve public health.Quick installationAt a time when electricity demand is skyrocketing from sources such as data centers, cooling and manufacturing, solar and wind can often be deployed faster than fossil fuel power plants. Among all the electricity generation options, solar stands out as the fastest to deploy, often within two years. Even under favorable permitting conditions, non-solar options generally take 3-15 years to get online. Solar provides about 7% of the world’s electricity generation. Photo by anatoliy_gleb/Shutterstock 9) If renewables are cheap, reliable and faster to build, why are new data centers turning to gas and nuclear to supply their power needs?Meeting new data center-driven electricity demand is a complex and rapidly evolving topic. IEA analysis projects that this demand is likely to be met by more fossil generation than renewables through 2030 in the two largest markets (United States and China), though at the global level, renewables are expected to take the lead. Large users of energy are also turning to nuclear power, pursuing existing and new operations, as well as restarting decommissioned plants.This regional increase in fossil-based power is being driven by data center developers’ and hyperscalers’ unique demands. A big one is ‘speed-to-power’: getting generation online fast, since data centers can be built far faster than new generation can connect to the grid. While a solar or wind farm can actually be built faster than a natural gas plant, in practice, variable renewables can be harder to deploy quickly through the grid, due to poor policy environments, locational constraints, permitting delays, and extensive grid study and building timelines.Even large-scale gas plants are coming online slower than data center demand — a problem compounded by a natural gas turbine shortage — so building on-site is often the fastest option. Here, fossil generation has an advantage: Though solar has more siting flexibility than wind, it still needs large land areas that major data center hubs often lack. The siting flexibility and lower land needs of fossil-based generation often make it the preferred choice for ‘behind-the-meter’ or co-located generation.The second pressure data centers face is reliability. These gigawatt-scale loads demand highly reliable, dispatchable power around the clock. The grid itself, drawing on many balanced sources of generation, is typically the most reliable option. But where grid capacity is unavailable or can’t keep up yet, developers are turning to fossil generation to fill the gap. While on-site solar and wind paired with storage can technically serve the same load at a similar reliability, meeting those demands would require significantly more land than is typically available near many data center sites. Even when grid connection is possible, fossil power, including diesel generators, still typically serves as backup power. Making renewables and storage the default for data centers will require faster grid modernization, along with solutions tailored to data centers’ unique characteristics. Critically, much of the disadvantage faced by renewables is policy-driven rather than inherent in the technology itself. Streamlining permitting and interconnection processes would let solar and wind deploy far faster, making them a more competitive option for meeting new data center demand. Renewables account for 34% of global electricity generation; 15% comes from hydropower. Photo by Evgeny_V/Shutterstock 10) What will happen to jobs and livelihoods currently relying on fossil fuels?Jobs in electricity generation from solar and wind are already outpacing many other generation sources, particularly fossil fuels. In 2024, around 14 million people worked in the electricity generation sector globally, with solar and wind generation accounting for 48% of the entire electricity workforce. Fossil fuel-based jobs comprised only 26%. Solar energy is the largest electricity subsector for creating new jobs. According to the IEA, solar PV created nearly 4 times more jobs than power generation from oil and gas worldwide in 2024. Jobs in coal power generation declined in the same year.If we zoom in on the United States, the same trends apply. According to the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report from the U.S. Department of Energy, solar and wind comprised 54% of all jobs in the electricity generation sector in 2024; fossil fuels accounted for 21%. Solar not only leads in employment but is also projected to grow faster than other sectors — at approximately 9.8%, vs. 6.8% for natural gas and 4.1% for coal.Locally, however, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy can be a source of worry for employees and local businesses. In the U.S., jobs in oil and gas tend to pay higher than those in renewables, although both are higher-than-average wages. These are legitimate concerns that require proactive, thoughtful engagement to create economic opportunities in impacted communities. Some governments and businesses are using workforce strategies to ease the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, including training and reskilling for fossil fuel workers. In Grimsby, England, for example, an offshore wind boom has revived its economy, which had suffered from a decline in the fishing and oil and gas sectors. Spain’s national Just Transition Plan is retraining workers from the coal industry for new jobs in the wind sector.11) Are wind turbines dangerous for birds?The impact on birds from wind energy is extremely small compared to other causes, such as buildings and vehicles. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, onshore wind turbines are responsible for 0.007% of human-caused bird deaths annually.The impact is also low compared to other sources of electricity. For example, one study on the U.S. and Europe showed that fossil-fueled power stations pose a much greater threat to birds than wind and nuclear technologies, due to associated air and water pollution. Another study from the University of Geneva in Switzerland concluded that the onset of shale oil and gas production reduces bird population counts by approximately 15% in the U.S., while wind turbines do not have any measurable impact on bird counts. There are also several effective ways for wind farms to reduce the risk to birds. For example, new technologies allow blades to turn more slowly, while wind farms can prioritize siting away from bird habitats and migratory pathways.12) What are some of the major barriers to renewable electricity that still need to be overcome? Modernizing electric grids, building energy storage capacity, and simplifying permitting are challenges many countries face as they try to scale up clean electricity.Regardless of the source of electricity, grids need to expand quickly to increase reliability. Driving higher performance by modernizing and optimizing existing grid infrastructure is as important as building more. Investment in electricity grids is growing worldwide, but even more is needed, especially for high-voltage transmission. More reliable grids can support integrating higher volumes of renewable electricity.When it comes to where that infrastructure should be placed, siting and permitting need to improve to speed the transition to the new energy economy while safeguarding local communities and nature. Streamlined administrative processes, such as setting adequate timelines for approvals and improving coordination within and between agencies, are essential. So are community benefits agreements, which can address stakeholder concerns and ensure clean energy projects produce local benefits such as jobs and infrastructure improvements.Adequate supply of critical minerals is also a challenge for expanding clean electricity supplies. While necessary to meet surging energy demand, mining and processing these minerals can produce emissions, pollute the environment and bring risks to nearby communities, such as water contamination from mine tailings. Mining and processing are also concentrated in a small handful of countries, which can lead to geopolitical risk. Reusing critical minerals discarded technology can help minimize demand, while responsible mining can reduce risks related to environmental, social, supply chain and other concerns.As governments scale up clean electricity technologies, they should work with businesses and industries as implementation partners and align markets to help those businesses compete in global markets. Public and private large buyers can play a major role in scaling electric vehicle fleets, increasing home and building efficiency, and boosting low-carbon industrial products, while helping to expand clean electricity to power these end-uses. Large buyers, as well as groups of smaller buyers pooling their demand together, can drive widespread adoption of clean electricity and low-carbon products through their procurement decisions. 13) What electricity mix is needed to reach net-zero emissions?Research shows that keeping some of the worst climate change impacts at bay requires global greenhouse gas emissions to drop to ‘net-zero’ by mid-century. At the global level, credible modeling by organizations including IEA, IRENA and BloombergNEF show that reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 is feasible and affordable by:Doubling or tripling total electricity generation to enable widespread electrification of transportation, industry and heating; withA global generation mix that is ~70-75% solar and wind and ~25-30% clean, firm power (geothermal, nuclear, hydropower, and/or fossil generation with carbon capture and storage).The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reached a similar conclusion.Moving Toward a Clean Energy FutureIn a world facing numerous geopolitical risks, the security and affordability of energy supplies are top-of-mind for countries, businesses and households. An economy dependent on fossil fuels is a structural economic vulnerability, leaving countries exposed to price and supply shocks whenever the next conflict hits. An economy built on home-grown clean energy protects against future shocks, provides economic resilience and ensures lower bills for consumers. Renewable electricity puts countries in control: it provides energy price stability, independence and long-term security.