Renewables Drive A Stake Through The Cold, Dark Heart Of King Coal – CleanTechnica

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Ember issued its energy report for the first half of 2025 this week, using data compiled from 88 countries. Here is the executive summary of that report. “The increase in solar and wind power outpaced global electricity demand growth in the first half of 2025. Solar alone met 83 percent of the rise, with many countries setting new records. Fossil fuels remained mostly flat, with a slight decline. Fossil generation fell in China and India, but grew in the EU and the US.”

Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, ‍a senior electricity analyst for Ember, said, “As the world’s energy needs increase and electricity makes up a growing share of final energy consumption, spectacular solar growth alongside increased wind generation met and exceeded all new demand. This led to renewables overtaking coal’s share in the global mix and prevented further increases in CO2 emissions from the power sector.

“We are seeing the first signs of a crucial turning point [emphasis added]. Solar and wind are now growing fast enough to meet the world’s growing appetite for electricity. This marks the beginning of a shift where clean power is keeping pace with demand growth. As costs of technologies continue to fall, now is the perfect moment to embrace the economic, social and health benefits that come with increased solar, wind and batteries.”

Ember found that the demand for electricity globally grew by 2.6 percent (+369 TWh) in the first half of 2025, but that increase was more than offset by increases in solar (+306 TWh, +31 percent) and wind (+97 TWh, +7.7 percent) generation. Solar alone accounted for 83 percent of the increase. Hydro fell significantly while bio-energy output dipped slightly. Nuclear rose moderately, while overall fossil generation fell by -0.3 percent.

Solar grew by 306 TWh (31 percent) in the first half of 2025, which led to the share of solar in the global electricity increasing from 6.9 percent to 8.8 percent. China accounted for 55 percent of global solar growth, followed by the US at 14 percent, the EU at 12 percent, India att 5.6 percent, and Brazil a 3.2 percent. The other nations of the world contributed another 9 percent. Four countries generated over 25 percent of their electricity from solar, and at least 29 countries surpassed 10 percent.

A surge in solar and wind led to renewables overtaking coal generation for the first time on record in the first half of 2025. The share of renewable energy globally rose to 34.3 percent from 32.7 percent in 2025, while the share attributable to coal fired thermal generation fell to 33.1 percent from 34.2 percent.

We’re Not Across The Finish Line Yet

Does that mean we should all be dancing in the streets? No. Ember points out that coal power was down in India it the first half of this year primarily because of somewhat cooler temperatures in the spring and early summer. Nevertheless, it was a significant milestone that portends a continuing downward trend for coal in the years to come.

Also this week, the International Energy Agency issued a report that found global renewables could more than double by the end of this decade, with 80 percent of new clean energy capacity expected to come from solar power. IEA executive director Fatih Birol told the press, “The growth in global renewable capacity in the coming years will be dominated by solar PV —  but with wind, hydro power, bio-energy and geothermal all contributing, too.”

The agency expects China will remain the world’s biggest growth market for renewables, with India emerging as the second largest over the rest of the decade. “In addition to growth in established markets, solar is set to surge in economies such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and several south-east Asian countries,” Birol noted.

First Coal Auction Is A Flop

The United States, of course, is doing everything in its power to boost the fortunes of coal companies who contributed so generously to the Red Team in the last election. Among other things, it has opened millions of acres of public lands to oil, gas, and coal exploration.

According to the Associated Press, a company owned by the Navajo tribe this week submitted the only bid in the first coal auction since the new policy was announced. Its bid was $186,000 to lease 167 million tons of coal on federal lands in southeastern Montana. It is the biggest US coal sale in more than a decade.

The offer is the equivalent of one tenth of a cent per ton. The tribal authorities argued its low ball offer was justified by government studies that predict coal markets will decline significantly over the next two decades as fewer utilities buy the fuel.

Think about that for a moment. For all the bluster and bombast emanating from the headwaters of the Potomac, the market has determined the coal is practically worthless. The right wing crazies in America always profess their total faith in the power of markets, and yet the market is saying the coal in the ground has virtually no value. Hmmm….there’s a pretty big disconnect there somewhere.

In addition to propping up coal with taxpayer dollars, there’s more going on in Washington. The Environmental Protection Agency has said it will repeal dozens of regulations put in place by the Biden administration that were designed to curb carbon dioxide, mercury, and other pollutants from coal plants. It also will revise a regulation that limits wastewater pollution from power plants that the industry considers too costly.

So guess what happens now? That’s right — government subsidies, the very things Repugnicans scream the loudest about when it comes to renewables. What goes around, comes around. Boy, howdy does it ever. At the last successful government lease sale in the region ten years ago, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy paid $793 million, or $1.10 per ton, for 721 million tons of coal in Wyoming.

No Energy Emergency

Selling new coal leases does not necessarily mean the tracts will be mined, James Stock, a Harvard University economist and former member of the White House Council on Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, told AP.

Despite the phony declaration of an energy “emergency” and calls to expand mining and burning of coal, Stock said it’s unlikely any new coal plants will be built. That means much of the coal that’s being sold under Trump is unlikely to ever be mined, he said. “I don’t expect these leases to have much real-world impact,” Stock said.