Solar Posts Largest Single-Year Growth of Any Energy Source in History

The EIA’s 2025 global energy analysis confirms solar as the dominant source of new generation, with growth that the agency calls unprecedented for any energy source on record. Combined with rapid battery storage expansion and near-flat fossil fuel consumption, the numbers prompted the agency to declare the start of the “Age of Electricity.” Electricity demand grew at twice the rate of overall energy demand, signaling a structural shift in how the world consumes power.

Electrification is visible across sectors. EV sales hit roughly a quarter of all cars sold globally, with demand up nearly 40 percent year over year, helping hold oil consumption growth to just 0.7 percent — less than half the prior decade’s average. Heat pump sales flattened, but prior momentum means they now represent the majority of new heating units in several markets. Natural gas use rose only 1 percent despite a cold year pushing building-sector demand.

The analysis suggests 2026 will accelerate these trends. Middle East disruptions — particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and constrained LNG flows from Gulf states — will tighten fossil supply and push prices higher, reinforcing the pivot toward electrified alternatives and government policies designed to insulate economies from future fuel shocks.