In a milestone for the energy transition, renewables have overtaken coal in global electricity generation for the first time, and smaller nations are among the fastest movers. According to a recent article in The Conversation, nations such as Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are pushing growth in solar and wind faster than many larger economies.
Bhutan and Nepal, in particular, have become compelling case studies. Bhutan already benefits from hydropower infrastructure, but it is now expanding solar generation to strengthen energy resilience. Nepal, having embraced small solar systems earlier, is now scaling up larger installations to meet growing demand. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are following suit, investing in decentralized clean energy to reduce dependence on fuel imports and grid vulnerabilities.
On a global scale, renewables have gained ground because technologies such as solar and wind are scaling fast, their costs are falling, and many regions face an urgency to decarbonize. The shift is especially visible now, even though in developed economies, the transition has momentum but is less dramatic.
But this isn’t a simple victory lap. Small countries often confront challenges such as financing, grid integration, technical capacity, and intermittency. In some cases, geopolitical pressures, resource constraints, and policy shifts can slow progress. The author argues that the rapid growth in these nations shows how clean energy can be adopted in diverse contexts and offers lessons to larger economies about flexibility, local solutions, and resilience.
What this signals is more than symbolic: the moment renewables surpassed coal marks a structural change in global power systems. Smaller nations often bear the brunt of climate risk, so seeing them lead in clean energy sends a strong message: transformation is possible anywhere, and the path ahead may be led by those often overlooked.