End of an era: Renewables dethrone fossil fuels worldwide

For the first time in over a century, electricity generation from clean sources has surpassed major fossil fuels, marking a definitive turning point for the global energy industry.

According to the latest reports from the climate think tank Ember and consolidated data from the first half of the year, the global electricity system has just crossed a critical threshold. The combination of solar and wind energy currently accounts for 22% of global electricity, officially overtaking natural gas (20%) and progressively displacing coal from its historically dominant global position.

This milestone was driven by the record installation of clean infrastructure, led by China, the European Union, and India. This massive deployment has achieved something that seemed impossible a decade ago: absorbing the drastic increase in global electricity demand—driven by electric mobility and massive artificial intelligence data centers—without having to resort to firing up new polluting thermal power plants.

Key fact: Solar energy consolidated its role as the main driver of this change; its growth rate over the last year was 18 times greater than that of natural gas.

The Geopolitical Factor and Storage

The relative decline of fossil fuels responds not only to an undeniable climate urgency but also to national security and economic imperatives. The extreme volatility of gas and oil prices in the face of recent geopolitical crises has forcefully accelerated energy independence plans in major European and Asian economic blocs.

Furthermore, the great historical "Achilles' heel" of renewable energies—their intermittency when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing—is beginning to be resolved thanks to the commercial emergence of utility-scale battery storage systems. This backup technology makes it possible to store midday surpluses to inject clean energy into the grid during nocturnal peak consumption hours.

Although the path to carbon neutrality remains long and complex, this year's figures confirm a clear diagnosis: the energy transition is no longer a future promise, but has become the new operational normal of the world.

Countries Leading the Change

The Undisputed Leaders (Near 100%) These countries achieved the almost total decarbonization of their electricity grids, relying heavily on their natural resources:

• Iceland (100%): Takes advantage of its location over a zone of high volcanic activity and its abundant water resources. It combines geothermal and hydroelectric energy to supply nearly all of its electricity and heating.

• Norway (~98%): Its energy mix is almost entirely based on hydroelectric power thanks to its mountainous terrain and high levels of precipitation. Its policy of promoting electric vehicles has allowed this clean energy to begin decarbonizing transportation as well.

• Costa Rica (~98-99%): This Central American country has been operating its electrical grid almost exclusively with renewable energy for years, combining hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, and biomass. They have promoted an ambitious plan to decarbonize their entire economy (including transport and agriculture) by 2050.

The Vanguard in Transformation Policies Other countries did not have the same volcanic or fjord geography, but achieved exceptional results in just over a decade thanks to innovative regulatory frameworks:

• Uruguay (~95%): This is perhaps the most studied success story in the world. Fifteen years ago, it relied heavily on imported oil. Through a state policy initiated in 2008, it fostered a public-private partnership. The state-owned enterprise guaranteed 20-year fixed-price contracts to private investors. This sparked a wind energy boom, which today covers a large part of the territory, alongside hydroelectric and biomass energy.

• Denmark (~88%): It is the world leader in wind energy. Unlike hydroelectric countries (whose energy is stable), Denmark bet on the wind, which is variable. Its success lies in interconnection policies with neighboring countries, backup systems, and a highly flexible grid.

The Main Political Lesson

The common factor among countries like Uruguay or Denmark (which built their energy mix recently) is that they treated the transition not just as an environmental issue, but as a secure financial business. By guaranteeing long-term legal stability and fixed-price power purchase agreements, they enabled private investment to flow rapidly into the installation of wind and solar farms, demonstrating that with the right regulation, the energy transition can be incredibly fast.