Highlights of the global energy transition in 2025

Solar starting to take off in places that were once behind

In 2025, solar strengthened in markets that had long trailed behind the global leaders, as solar showed its potential to leapfrog fossil generation in emerging markets. Several countries outside the traditional frontrunners like China and Europe, are now recording sharper growth thanks to falling costs, easing supply bottlenecks and clearer policy signals.

In August 2025, Ember reported that there’s clear evidence of solar now accelerating across Africa. Imports of Chinese solar panels rose 60% in the 12 months to June 2025, with South Africa still the largest buyer but 20 other countries also posting record orders. Total imports reached 15 GW of capacity, up from 9.4 GW the year before. Some markets saw dramatic jumps. Algeria’s imports rose 33-fold, Zambia eightfold, Botswana sevenfold and Sudan sixfold, while Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Benin, Angola and Ethiopia all more than tripled their imports.

Central Europe, a region once behind on solar generation, is now expanding faster than many traditional European Union (EU) leaders. Summer 2025 underscored this momentum. In June, Hungary generated more than 40% of its electricity from solar, while Poland and Czechia also recorded their highest monthly solar output to date.

By 2024, the ten BRICS countries accounted for more than half of global solar generation – 51%, up from just 15% a decade earlier. This rapid rise signals a major shift in the centre of gravity of the global energy transition.