Solar power is becoming bigger than nuclear

14 hours agoJocelyn TimperleyGetty Images(Credit: Getty Images)After defying projections, solar's dramatic growth means it is now overtaking nuclear as a global power source. Here are seven reasons for solar's success, and where it might go from here.The world's solar power is crossing a threshold. A decade ago, it barely registered on a global scale, providing just 1% of the world's power. In 2026, it will almost certainly increase to 10% of power, and overtake nuclear, a mainstay of electricity since the late 1970s."[Solar] generating more electricity than all the world's nuclear power plants is a pretty insane stat, for sure," says Dave Jones, co-founder of Ember. From China's vast arrays to a recent solar upsurge driven by escalating oil prices, the incredible rise of solar power has defied all projections. Here are seven ways it has become an apparently "unstoppable force" – and what the future looks like from here.1. An underestimated force "Solar is now the engine of the power transition," says Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford in the UK.Solar has become the fastest-growing source of new electricity in history, and by far the largest source of new electricity globally. In 2025, it met three-quarters of the growth in the world's demand for electricity, overtaking wind power generation (wind power is also growing, just a little more slowly).That's where solar's going, to not just be king of electricity, but king of energy – Dave JonesEmber/ BBCEmber data shows solar electricity generation narrowly surpassing nuclear in 2025. In 2026, it will almost certainly well exceed it (Credit: Ember/BBC)2. 'Offensively cheap'In particular, a large fall in the price of panels in 2023-24 pushed us into the current era of what Jones calls "offensively cheap" solar. "A panel in itself is just so unbelievably cheap," he says. "It's well under $100 (£75)… and that's going to keep you generating electricity for 30, 40 years without any input at all."3. Global uptakeChina is still the world's biggest solar power by far but is by no means the only player."Tariffs and other federal policies that constrain renewable energy growth are certainly expected to raise costs and slow expansion relative to what we otherwise would have seen," says Alicia Zhao, an expert in US mitigation pathways at the University of Maryland. "However, economics are a key part of why solar has been able to grow so quickly. Even with rising costs, solar …