Wazzup Pilipinas!?
For decades, natural gas was touted as the inevitable bridge to a cleaner energy future—a "transition fuel" meant to power our progress while the world slowly turned away from coal. But the story of the global electricity mix in 2025 reveals a profound, structural change: the bridge is crumbling, not because it was poorly built, but because the path on the other side has become much faster and more attractive.
For the fifth consecutive year, gas has seen its share of the global electricity mix fall. While absolute generation rose by a marginal 38 TWh (+0.6%) in 2025, this growth is a shadow of its former self. The era where gas was the default choice for expanding power grids is ending, replaced by a clean energy revolution led by solar and wind.
The Solar Surge
The numbers tell a story of two different energy trajectories. In 2025, while gas struggled to capture just 5% of new global electricity demand, solar power expanded by 636 TWh—growing 17 times faster than gas.
Between 2021 and 2025, clean power sources met approximately 68% of the world’s rising demand for electricity. This rapid scaling of renewables has fundamentally altered the power sector's dynamics. Where gas growth once averaged 2.9% between 2016 and 2020, it has been slashed to just 1.6% in the last five years. Gas is no longer the primary engine of growth; it is increasingly being relegated to a secondary, balancing role alongside wind and solar.
A Global Shift, Region by Region
The decline is not just a statistical anomaly; it is a widespread structural trend. By 2025, 61 of the 124 economies that generate electricity from gas had officially passed their "peak gas" generation point.
The G7 Plateau: The G7, which accounts for 37% of global gas-fired generation, is showing clear signs of a plateau. In 2025, renewable power in the G7 generated nearly as much electricity (2,544 TWh) as gas power (2,577 TWh), with the latter falling for the second consecutive year.
Emerging Economies: In the world's largest emerging economies—China, India, and Brazil—the narrative is even more striking. Despite rapid economic growth, these nations are proving that prosperity does not require a locked-in reliance on gas. China’s gas share remains tiny, at roughly 3%. India and Brazil have already seen gas generation peak and now treat it as a limited, specialized tool for grid stability rather than a mainstay of energy expansion.
The Security Catalyst
Beyond economics, the push away from gas is being accelerated by the harsh reality of global politics. The volatility of the last few years—including Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and more recent LNG disruptions related to the 2026 conflict in the Middle East—has exposed the fragility of import-dependent energy systems.
As Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, Senior Electricity Analyst at Ember, notes: "The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction. As renewables lower costs and reduce exposure to fuel price shocks and geopolitical disruptions, gas is steadily losing the advantages that once made it the default fuel for power system growth".
The Road Ahead
We are approaching a turning point. While global gas generation has not yet peaked in absolute terms, the momentum behind it has stalled. As renewable deployment accelerates and battery storage technologies mature, the world is moving away from the structural reliance on gas that defined the early 21st century.
The message from the 2025 data is clear: the future of global power is being built not on the flickering flame of gas, but on the enduring power of the wind and the sun.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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