--- title: "Solar Panels Are Now Producing So Much Power That They’re Leaving Nuclear Plants in the Dust" description: "Solar energy will soon account for 10 percent of the world's energy generation, as nuclear power gets precipitously more expensive to build." date: "2026-10-27" modified: "2026-10-27" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/solar-panels-electricity-energy-nuclear-power" categories: - "Energy" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" - "Solar Power" --- # Solar Panels Are Now Producing So Much Power That They’re Leaving Nuclear Plants in the Dust ![Solar panels in a field.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* As the world struggles to access oil as a consequence of the US war on Iran, the scramble for alternative forms of energy has become a mad dash. And contrary to the energy future [some have imagined](), the hunt for new power sources has supercharged the solar trade — leaving even nuclear power way back in the rearview mirror. According to new reporting [by the *BBC*](), photovoltaics will account for 10 percent of the world's power generation by the end of 2026, a threshold which will see solar energy officially surpass nuclear fission. As professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Oxford Jan Rosenow told the British broadcaster, "solar is now the engine of the power transition." Compared to nuclear energy generation — which has stayed largely flat over the past 26 years globally — the publication notes the volume of solar energy being generated has exploded, increasing some 2,700 times over across the same period. Much of the solar energy boom can be traced back to China, where [massive supply]() is driving down the cost of photovoltaics to unprecedented lows. Though plenty of [US-based startups]() have emerged with the goal of reviving the nuclear energy sector, their efforts to commercialize fission seem to be going nowhere fast. In fact, the cost of nuclear construction projects in the US have [skyrocketed]() over recent decades, [defying conventional norms]() around infrastructure, which hold that complex energy builds should get cheaper as scale increases. For the rest of the world, cheap solar power is increasingly becoming a lifeline, both in the literal day-to-day sense, and as a way to decouple from the long-standing oil economy. As Rosenow told the *BBC*, the issue going forward is no longer one of access to alternative energy, but in balanced development of infrastructure for underdeveloped and overexploited nations. "The bigger question," Rosenow says, "is no longer whether solar grows, but whether our power systems and institutions can keep up." **More on energy:** [*Decrepit Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Factory Is Getting a Major Fusion Reactor Facelift*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Solar Power Is Getting So Cheap That It’s Almost Unbelievable]() - [Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant to Be Built in Dubai, Will Be Operational by 2020]() - [The War in Iran Is Causing China to Sell So Many Solar Panels That Your Jaw Will Drop]() - [There’s No Argument Against Nuclear Power]() - [U.S. Senators: We Must Support Safely Operating Nuclear Power Plants]() - [Chile Is Producing So Much Solar Energy, They’re Giving It Away For Free]() - [Scientists Unveil Underwater Solar Panels]() - [Nuclear Power Used to Seem Like the Future. Now Its Fate in the US Is in Question.]()