Fossil Growth Outpaced Low-Carbon in October 2025 as Mainland China Drove the Surge

In October 2025, total electricity increased by about +110.4 TWh across reporting regions covering 58% of global electricity. Low-carbon electricity rose by about +52.1 TWh, while fossil electricity increased by about +62.5 TWh—meaning fossil growth outpaced low-carbon growth in the latest month.

Countries with the Highest Growth

Mainland China increased total electricity by about +102.3 TWh in October—roughly 93% of the +110.4 TWh net increase across all reporting regions. The United States was the next-largest contributor at about +7.2 TWh. Among other countries with October data, France (+1.1 TWh), Poland (+0.74 TWh), and Germany (+0.67 TWh) were the largest growers. The biggest declines were Sweden (about −0.94 TWh), Italy (about −0.88 TWh), and Austria (about −0.68 TWh).

Within Mainland China, October’s surge was split between low-carbon electricity (+48.1 TWh) and fossil electricity (+54.3 TWh). Solar led the low-carbon increase (+43.8 TWh) and hydro rebounded strongly (+31.3 TWh), while nuclear added about +2.0 TWh; wind output, however, was lower by about −11.7 TWh.

Global Trends (and What 58% Coverage Implies)

These changes compare October 2025 to October 2024. With reporting regions covering 58% of global electricity, the direction and broad shape of the shift is informative—especially because it includes large systems like Mainland China and the United States—but the exact global totals could still change as additional data arrives. In October’s reported data, fossil generation grew faster than low-carbon supply, indicating that fossil met a larger share of the month’s incremental demand across covered regions.

Which Energy Sources Moved Most in October

Across all regions with October data, low-carbon growth was driven primarily by solar (+50.3 TWh) and hydro (+20.6 TWh). Nuclear added about +2.4 TWh. Wind was modestly lower overall (about −4.1 TWh), despite increases in some countries, because Mainland China’s decline was large enough to pull the total down.

Year-to-Date Context

Across months reported so far in 2025, the average monthly change has been about +92.5 TWh for total electricity across the reporting regions, with low-carbon electricity up about +82.7 TWh and fossil electricity up about +8.5 TWh.