Could the world generate enough renewable energy to satisfy its appetite for power? Many experts think so…
On March 10, 2025, over 500 people will gather at an upmarket venue in St Paul’s, London for the second annual Energy Transition Summit. This timely event will “explore the energy transition through a technology lens” and provide many answers to the question of whether solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy can deliver enough electricity for the world to truly phase out the use of fossil fuels and rely on more sustainable power.
It’s a question that many people are pondering, especially given the current political situation in the USA, where President Trump is busy rolling back many of the sustainability policies set in place by former President Biden. But while America is regressing when it comes to renewable energy, Europe is ploughing ahead with its plans to keep boosting the generation of solar and wind power.
Renewable leaders
As one of the leading countries in the world for renewable energy, the UK generates a huge proportion of its electricity from sustainable sources. According to a report from Carbon Brief, 58% of its electricity was produced from low-carbon sources in 2024. The analysis also found that the UK had more than halved electricity generated from coal and gas and doubled its output from renewables in the last decade.
The new Labour government is determined to keep pushing that percentage up with its promise to decarbonise the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 and has bold plans to increase solar and wind production over the next few years. While the amount of electricity generated by gas in the UK is still relatively high at 28%, it’s expected that wind power will overtake gas at some point in 2025.
While certainly ambitious, the government’s 2030 target has been described as “possible” by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), but there is “very little room for error”.
Global movement
Of course, the UK isn’t the only country to understand the potential of sustainable power to transform the energy industry and make a significant contribution to the reversal of climate change. In Germany, renewable energy accounted for 63% of electricity generation in 2024, the country’s first full year without nuclear power production since 1962. Meanwhile, Hungary, Greece and Spain are the top three countries in Europe for solar power generation, to the point where energy created by the sun is close to exceeding demand.
Outside of Europe, countries such as China and Australia understand the benefits of solar power generation, not just for the environment but for its low cost. China has set itself the target of generating 1,200 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030 – a goal it is poised to achieve by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. And in Australia, over 30% of households have installed rooftop solar systems to take advantage of the huge amount of sunlight the country has, while the Australian government is investing significantly in solar research and development.
Easy choice
The decision to use more sustainable sources of energy is a simple one, with the benefits far outweighing the challenges. Whether it’s solar, wind, biomass, tidal or one of the many sources yet to be discovered, renewable energy offers limitless power without damaging the planet.
Fortunately, most countries around the world understand this and are ramping up their efforts to boost the proportion of renewable energy they generate and use. And as technology develops, the increasing efficiency of the system will make the decision even easier to make.
