International Energy Agency report on global energy demand growth in 2025

According to the annual report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar photovoltaics accounted for 27% of the increase in global energy demand in 2025. This marks the first time a renewable energy technology has been the primary contributor to meeting rising global demand, which grew by 1.3% compared to 2% in 2024 and a 1.4% decade-long average. Solar power surpassed natural gas, which represented 17% of the demand increase. New solar capacity added 600 terawatt-hours (TWh) to reach a total of 2,700 TWh, representing 8% of total production. Natural gas consumption rose by 1% in the first half of 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024. Meanwhile, oil consumption growth slowed to 0.7%, adding 650,000 barrels per day compared to 750,000 in 2024. This oil consumption increase is significantly lower than the 2010-2019 annual average of 1.4 million barrels per day.