As the world reaches a historic clean energy milestone, Pakistan finds itself at a critical turning point where solar power could reshape its energy future, reduce dependence on expensive fossil fuels, and cut harmful emissions.
For more than a century, coal has been the backbone of the world’s electricity system, powering industries, cities and economies while simultaneously becoming one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.
That era is now beginning to change.
For the first time in more than 100 years, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity generation. According to Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026, renewable sources produced 33.8% of global electricity in 2025, narrowly surpassing coal’s 33.0% share. The milestone marks what energy experts describe as a structural shift in the global power sector rather than a temporary fluctuation.
Behind this transformation is the unprecedented growth of solar and wind energy. Solar alone recorded the largest annual increase ever achieved by any electricity source, while wind power continued expanding rapidly across both developed and emerging economies. Together, the two technologies supplied almost all of the growth in global electricity demand during 2025, allowing fossil fuel generation to decline despite rising consumption.
The transition has not happened uniformly.
Coal continues to dominate electricity generation across much of Asia, particularly in China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, largely because of abundant domestic reserves and decades of investment in coal-fired infrastructure. Europe, meanwhile, presents a very different picture, with countries such as Spain and Germany generating more electricity from wind and solar than from fossil fuels, while France and Finland continue to rely heavily on nuclear energy.
One country attracting increasing international attention, however, is Pakistan.
Pakistan’s unexpected solar surge
Long viewed as a country struggling with expensive electricity, chronic power shortages and dependence on imported fuels, Pakistan has quietly become one of the world’s fastest-growing solar markets.
According to Reuters, solar power supplied approximately 25.3% of Pakistan’s utility-supplied electricity during the first months of 2025, making it the country’s single largest source of electricity generation during that period. The rapid expansion has been driven by falling global solar panel prices, rising electricity tariffs and record imports of inexpensive Chinese photovoltaic panels.
Pakistan’s solar expansion has surprised many international energy analysts.
Unlike many countries where renewable growth has been led primarily by government-funded utility projects, much of Pakistan’s growth has come from households, commercial buildings and industries installing rooftop solar systems to escape soaring electricity bills.
The trend has accelerated dramatically over the past two years as consumers increasingly sought alternatives to conventional grid electricity.
Industry observers say the falling cost of solar technology has fundamentally changed the economics of electricity generation in Pakistan, allowing businesses and homeowners to generate their own power at costs significantly below conventional tariffs.
Coal still remains a major part of Pakistan’s electricity mix
Despite the rapid rise of solar, Pakistan has not yet moved away from fossil fuels.
According to the Pakistan Electricity Review 2025, published by Renewables First using data from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Pakistan generated around 137 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity during fiscal year 2024.
Thermal power remained the dominant source of generation, while coal continued to play a significant role in the country’s electricity system. The report estimates that coal-fired power plants generated roughly 16 TWh of electricity during the year, accounting for approximately 12% of total electricity generation.
Hydropower remained Pakistan’s largest electricity source during FY2024, while wind, solar and bagasse together contributed only about 5% of grid electricity.
The report notes, however, that distributed solar installations have been growing much faster than utility-scale renewable projects and therefore are not fully reflected in traditional grid generation statistics. Net-metering capacity almost doubled during FY2024 and continued expanding into 2025.
The environmental cost of coal
Although coal has helped countries meet growing electricity demand for decades, it remains the most carbon-intensive major fuel used for power generation.
The International Energy Agency and climate researchers consistently identify coal-fired electricity as one of the largest sources of global carbon dioxide emissions, contributing significantly to climate change, rising temperatures and worsening air pollution.
Coal combustion also releases particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants associated with respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases and environmental degradation.
Globally, reducing coal dependence has become one of the central objectives of climate policies because replacing coal with renewable electricity delivers immediate reductions in carbon emissions while improving air quality.
