Solar Power Overtakes Nuclear in Global Electricity Generation

Solar power has overtaken nuclear energy in global electricity generation as falling panel prices, expanding installations, and improvements in battery storage accelerate the renewable energy transition. Data from UK-based energy think tank Ember show that solar generated more electricity than nuclear in 2025, with the gap widening to 13% over the 12 months through September 2026.

Solar supplied approximately 1% of the world's electricity a decade ago. According to the article's analysis, its share is expected to reach 10% in 2026, marking a significant shift in the global electricity mix.

Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember, described the scale of the change as remarkable.

"[Solar] generating more electricity than all the world's nuclear power plants is a pretty insane stat, for sure," said Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember.

Solar has also become the largest source of new electricity generation globally. In 2025, it accounted for three-quarters of the growth in worldwide electricity demand, surpassing wind power generation, according to the source article.

Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK, said the technology's rapid expansion has exceeded established forecasts.

"Solar is now the engine of the power transition," said Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Rosenow said mainstream projections repeatedly underestimated solar's growth because they assumed a linear expansion rate and gradual cost reductions. The technology's deployment and falling prices outpaced those expectations.

"It wasn't expected," said Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Solar became the cheapest form of electricity in history in 2020, according to the article. Subsequent manufacturing expansion, greater panel efficiency, and reduced use of silicon and silver have helped drive costs down further.

Chinese manufacturing capacity and excess production have contributed to record-low solar module prices. Dave Jones described the resulting affordability as a defining feature of the current market.

"A panel in itself is just so unbelievably cheap," said Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember.

Jones added that an individual panel costs well under $100 (£75) and can continue generating electricity for 30 to 40 years without additional input. Separately, researchers calculated that growing wind and solar generation in the United States delivered $249 billion (£186 billion) in climate and health benefits between 2019 and 2022.

China remains the world's largest solar power market, but installations are expanding across countries with different political and economic conditions. In the United States, federal policies restricting renewable energy growth are expected to increase costs and slow expansion relative to what would otherwise occur.

Alicia Zhao, an expert in US mitigation pathways at the University of Maryland, said solar's economics continue to support deployment despite policy constraints.

"However, economics are a key part of why solar has been able to grow so quickly. Even with rising costs, solar is still one of the cheapest sources of new power in the US. And it is getting built regardless of political lines," said Alicia Zhao, an expert in US mitigation pathways at the University of Maryland.

Australia has installed rooftop solar at more than four million homes, representing well over one-third of all households. Across Africa, countries are installing approximately 100,000 solar panels daily, while Pakistan and Lebanon have also recorded rapid growth.

Higher diesel prices and unreliable electricity grids have strengthened solar's appeal in countries where households depend on generators. The source article links rising fuel costs to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US-Israel war with Iran, which have affected the economics of conventional energy supplies.

Pakistan illustrates the speed of the transition. Solar accounted for less than 2% of the country's electricity in 2019 but now supplies 24%, according to the article. Expensive and unreliable grid electricity, combined with inexpensive solar imports from China, has driven adoption.

Jones said much of Pakistan's expansion has been financed directly by households rather than through borrowing.

"What's really incredible in Pakistan is… generally most of the solar boom has been out of people's pockets," said Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember.

Jones said households have been able to afford installations without taking out loans. The article identifies Lebanon and Nigeria as other examples of countries experiencing rapid solar adoption.

Rosenow said decentralized installations allow consumers to respond to electricity challenges without waiting for government agencies or utilities to act.

"[Solar] lets households act without waiting for governments or utilities," said Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Battery storage is also helping solar expand beyond daylight hours. Falling battery costs have made it increasingly practical to store electricity generated during the day and supply it when demand rises in the evening.

Rosenow said combining solar panels with batteries has improved the competitiveness of renewable electricity against newly built fossil-fuel power plants in sunny regions.

"Solar plus storage is now routinely cheaper than new fossil plants in sunny regions," said Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK.

He said batteries have largely addressed the daily challenge of shifting midday solar generation into evening hours. In California, solar power and batteries met an average of more than one-quarter of electricity demand between 19:00 and 21:00 during the first half of 2026.

US states including Vermont are also deploying battery systems connected to the electricity grid, often alongside residential solar installations.

Rosenow said solar's future growth could extend beyond electricity generation into the wider energy system.

"That's where solar's going, to not just be king of electricity, but king of energy," said Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember.