An ill wind? the uneven reality behind the rise of renewables
Mark Lumsdon-Taylor · Posted on: October 10th 2025 · read
According to global energy think tank Ember, renewable energy overtook coal as the world’s leading source of electricity for the first time in the first half of this year.
At first glance, this is excellent news, but beneath the headline it’s a mixed picture:
Whilst developing countries, and especially China, led the way on clean energy, perhaps surprisingly richer nations including the United States and the EU, invested more than previously in planet-harming fossil fuels for generating electricity.
Coal remains the world’s largest source of energy generation, a position it has held for more than 50 years. Given its major contribution to global warming, this is a worrying claim to fame.
Whilst wealthier countries have dallied, China has added more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined. This has resulted in electricity from renewables outpacing increasing energy demand and has supported a reduction of 2% in fossil fuel electricity generation.
Electricity from renewables outpacing increasing energy demand and has supported a reduction of 2% in fossil fuel electricity generation.
In the United States, clean electricity generation was outpaced by demand leading to an increasing reliance on fossil fuels.
In the EU, months of poor wind and hydro-power performance led to increased electricity generation from coal and gas,
However, India (the third highest GHG emitting country) saw a slowing of electricity demand, whilst adding significant additional solar and wind capacity, resulting in a reduction in coal and gas use for electricity generation.
Solar power
By far the largest share of electricity generated from renewable sources came from solar, meeting 83% of the increase in electricity demand, and representing the largest source of new electricity for the third year in a row. Most solar generation is taking place in lower-income countries, standing at circa 58%. This is largely due to the reduction in costs – an incredible 99.9% reduction since 1975.
Africa is enjoying a solar growth boom, with panel imports up 60% year on year, and coal-reliant South Africa leading the way.
Some smaller African nations have seen even higher growth, with Algeria increasing its solar imports 33-fold, Zambia 8-fold and Botswana 7-fold.
The largest share of electricity generated from renewable sources came from solar, meeting 83% of the increase in electricity demand
Challenges of rapid growth
Rapid growth has led to unintended challenges: in Afghanistan for example, the widespread use of solar-powered water pumps is being blamed for a lowering of the water table, threatening access to groundwater.
Even in renewable electricity generation there is, however, inequality.
Solar power vs wind power
‘Sun belt’ countries (Asia, Africa and Latin America for example) require vast quantities of electricity for applications such as air conditioning. These countries can immediately benefit from the increasingly-affordable solar sources.
Conversely, for ‘wind belt’ countries, wind turbine costs have not reduced by anything like as much as solar, whilst increased borrowing costs have raised the levels of investment required to install wind farms. In addition, wind levels are unpredictable, delivering peaks and troughs that make it difficult to balance supply, and requiring back-up power sources.
Recycling
Then there is the issue of recycling. As the use of renewables grows, so too does the issue of recycling, for both solar and wind systems, the process is energy-intensive. That means until all energy sources are renewable, component recycling potentially adds further to carbon emissions. Whilst in theory solar panel components such as glass, aluminum frames, silicon cells, copper wiring and silver paste, and plastic layers and encapsulants should be recoverable, in practice they are laminated together making separation difficult and energy-intensive.
Wind turbines
Wind turbines present similar problems: the steel towers can be melted down, the copper wiring and generators recycled, and the aluminum parts recovered.
However, the turbine blades are made from fiberglass-reinforced epoxy or polyester resins most often sent to landfill or incinerated because they cannot simply be melted down. This is a potential ticking time-bomb unless governments and manufacturers can find alternative materials and construction methods.
As with many technologies created to address the carbon emissions issue, many renewables are in their relative infancy compared to fossil fuel sources. Not surprisingly that brings with it additional obstacles to overcome as well as variable resilience. One can claim that renewables are on a journey and that significant progress has been made. That is certainly the case but until these renewable sources are fully developed and widespread, there are inevitable impacts on companies and their supply chains.
Supply chains
Unreliable energy delivery patterns can affect company energy costs and delivery, and the same is true throughout the supply chain. Will the solar/wind characteristics create a divide, for example, with companies choosing suppliers in less volatile solar-energised regions over less predictable wind-energised areas? Only time will tell.
Similarly, fluctuations in renewable energy supplies that require in-filling with fossil fuel sources can make it difficult for companies to achieve CSRD and TCFD and other framework emissions compliance. If we add to this the carbon emissions created as a result of recycling or disposing of current technologies, as part of end-of-life emissions, then the problem is exacerbated.
Our experts final thoughts
"All-in-all then, the Ember announcement is certainly cause for cautious optimism, but the news from Europe and the US is hugely disappointing, particularly in the light of the EU’s desire to lead the way in climate change mitigation."
Whilst China leads the way it is critical that developed nations, such as those represented by the EU, focus on mitigating wind power costs, supporting this with an integrated range of sustainable energy generation solutions (particularly in the case of wind power), and place increasing focus on technologies with high recyclability. We certainly cannot, at present, take our foot off the …switch.
As someone once said: ‘it’s an ill wind…’
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