BRICS fossil fuel capacity posts biggest net gain of 115 GW in 2025

Net fossil growth continued despite record solar and wind additions across China and India.

Power capacity additions across the BRICS bloc reached record levels in 2025, according to analysis from the Global Energy Monitor's (GEM) Global Integrated Power Tracker.

GEM said solar, wind, coal, oil, and gas all recorded their highest annual capacity additions in the same year.

Solar and wind additions, in particular, reached 497 gigawatts (GW), with growth concentrated in China and India. The bloc added 125 GW of new coal, oil, and gas capacity.

After retirements, BRICS recorded a net fossil capacity increase of 115 GW, the highest on record and 11% above the previous peak in 2015.

The combined utility-scale solar and wind project pipeline in BRICS expanded by about 25% in 2025 to 2,317 GW, whilst the fossil pipeline rose 12% to 927 GW.

China accounted for most renewable additions and coal expansion, installing 315 GW of solar, 119 GW of wind, and 78 GW of coal capacity, representing 84% of total BRICS coal additions.

Coal-fired generation fell by nearly 2% in China and about 3% in India despite new capacity additions.

James Norman, Project Manager for the Global Integrated Power Tracker, said the BRICS bloc operates under an increasingly contradictory energy pattern.

“Clean energy pipelines are scaling up at twice the speed of fossil fuels, and renewables are successfully meeting incremental electricity demand to push down growth in coal generation,” Norman added.

The BRICS bloc includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Indonesia. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join but its status remains unclear.