Solar generation set to eclipse nuclear for first time

Global electricity generation from solar farms is set to exceed output from nuclear reactors for the first time this summer, marking an important milestone in the continuing growth of solar power within global energy systems.

- Gavin Maguire

As solar farms only generate power during daylight, solar output remains well behind wind, nuclear and hydro systems on an annual basis.

But during peak production months solar farms can exceed output from nearly all other clean sources and have already started to surpass global wind output during the northern hemisphere summer from last year.

With solar now also set to exceed nuclear production for a spell, that leaves global hydro systems as the only other major clean power source that has yet to be eclipsed briefly by solar farms during the peak solar output period.

Over the past decade, utilities have added more than twice as much solar capacity to generation networks as any other power source, thanks mainly to the relatively low cost and speedy connection times of solar systems.

As of 2024, there was 1,866 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar generation capacity embedded in global electricity systems, according to data from energy think tank Ember.

That capacity footprint was 10 times more than what was in place in 2014, and was by far the largest capacity growth posted by all major power sources during that period.