Prestigious scientific journal Science magazine has named the unstoppable growth of renewable energy as its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year, marking a historic turning point in the global energy system transformation.
Renewable Energy Surpasses Fossil Fuels
According to Science magazine’s report, renewable energy officially surpassed coal in 2025 to become the world’s primary source of electricity. This milestone reflects the rapid development of solar and wind energy technologies and the accelerated global transition to clean energy.
Data shows that from January to June 2025, solar and wind energy grew fast enough to cover the entire increase in global electricity usage. This means that all new electricity demand was met by renewable energy without requiring additional fossil fuel generation. This growth rate far exceeded most energy experts’ predictions.
Technological Progress Driving Cost Reduction
The rapid growth of renewable energy is primarily attributed to continuous advances in solar panel and wind turbine technology. Dramatic cost reductions in manufacturing have made renewable energy increasingly economically competitive, even becoming cheaper than fossil fuel generation in many regions.
Improvements in solar panel efficiency and expanded production scale have led to continued declines in per-watt generation costs. Similarly, advances in wind power technology, particularly offshore wind development, have significantly improved generation efficiency and economic viability.
AI Development’s Impact on Energy Demand
Google’s 2025 research review notes that rapid AI technology development has significantly impacted electricity demand. AI training and inference workloads require substantial computing power, driving dramatic increases in data center power requirements.
This demand growth makes renewable energy even more critical. Tech companies are investing massively in renewable energy infrastructure to support their AI computing needs. For example, Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect to invest in renewable-powered data center projects directly responds to surging AI-related electricity demand.
Accelerating Global Energy Transition
This breakthrough represents not merely a technical achievement but a fundamental shift in global energy policy and investment direction. Governments and corporations worldwide are accelerating energy transitions to achieve carbon neutrality goals and address climate change challenges.
Renewable energy’s rapid growth has also created massive employment opportunities and driven development across related industry chains. From solar panel manufacturing to wind turbine installation, the renewable energy industry is becoming a vital engine of global economic growth.
Future Development Outlook
While renewable energy has made significant progress, completely replacing fossil fuels still faces challenges. Energy storage technology development, power grid infrastructure upgrades, and energy supply stability all require continued attention.
MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025 also emphasizes that innovation in energy storage and grid management technology will be key to the next phase of energy transition.
Implications for AI Industry
For the tech industry, renewable energy’s breakthrough growth provides a sustainable development path. Industry experts point out that the AI industry’s next phase will focus on improving efficiency and reducing costs, including optimizing energy use and adopting cleaner power sources.
Science magazine’s selection of renewable energy as 2025’s Breakthrough of the Year not only recognizes past year achievements but also affirms future energy development direction. As technology continues advancing and costs further decline, renewable energy will play an increasingly important role in the global energy system, laying a solid foundation for addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development goals.
