A rapid shift in the global electricity mix
Solar power has moved ahead of nuclear generation worldwide, marking a major change in the balance of low-carbon electricity. BBC analysis of Ember data for the 12 months through September 2026 found that solar generated 13 percent more electricity than nuclear. Ember's annual figures indicate the crossover first occurred narrowly in 2025, with the gap widening during 2026.
The trajectory is striking because solar supplied only about one percent of global electricity a decade earlier. It is expected to approach 10 percent in 2026, while nuclear output has remained broadly level since 2000. The BBC reported that solar generation has expanded roughly 2,700-fold over that longer period.
Solar also accounted for three-quarters of the increase in worldwide electricity demand during 2025, making it the largest contributor to new generation and putting it ahead of wind growth. Those figures describe electricity produced, not installed capacity, and do not mean the technologies provide identical grid services. Nuclear plants generally run for long periods, while solar output changes with daylight and weather.
Manufacturing scale and cheaper equipment
Falling hardware costs are a central reason for solar's expansion. Large-scale Chinese manufacturing and excess module capacity have pushed panel prices to record lows, while improvements in efficiency and reduced use of materials such as silicon and silver have also lowered costs. Ember co-founder Dave Jones told the BBC that an individual panel now costs well below $100 and can continue producing electricity for decades.
China remains the largest solar market, and the United States ranks second for installations despite tariffs and federal policies that can increase project costs. Growth is spreading beyond those two markets. India has met 60 percent of its additional power demand over the past two years with new solar, while more than four million Australian homes have rooftop systems. Pakistan's share of electricity from solar rose from below two percent in 2019 to 24 percent, driven largely by household purchases of inexpensive imported panels as grid power became costly and unreliable.
Batteries are widening solar's usefulness after sunset. In California, solar and storage supplied more than a quarter of electricity demand during the evening peak from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on average in the first half of 2026. Lower battery prices make that pairing more viable in sunny regions.
Daily storage does not eliminate every integration problem. Grids still need ways to cover extended cloudy periods, seasonal changes and monsoon conditions, alongside transmission and flexible generation. The crossover with nuclear therefore signals the scale and speed of solar deployment rather than the disappearance of other power sources. Continued growth will depend not only on cheap panels but also on networks, storage and market rules capable of using increasingly variable output.
