Wind and solar are passing coal in more power grids

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CHART 1 • Wind and solar are passing coal in more power grids

Energy transition debates often get stuck in forecasts. This chart marks countries where wind and solar have already overtaken coal in electricity generation. It gives readers a concrete before-and-after, not another distant target.

That changes the argument. In places such as the UK and the US, the clean-power crossover is no longer just a target or campaign line; it is part of the historical record. Coal still matters globally, but the direction of travel is visible.

Observed transitions are harder to dismiss than promises. They shape investment, grid planning and political expectations. A national crossover does not mean the grid is easy to run, or that coal has disappeared elsewhere, but it moves part of the debate from aspiration to fact.

Source: Jan Rosenow

Scarcity has a special glamour in markets. It can make a product feel desirable, a commodity feel safe or a transition feel inevitable. But scarcity is not always strength. Sometimes it is a bottleneck with better public relations.

Grids, silver, Ferrari and Swatch each test that idea in a different way. Scarcity can create value, reflect anxiety or reveal that a supposedly protected brand still needs demand to show up.