Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time – pv magazine Global

Solar power surpassed nuclear energy globally for the first time in 2025, with wind also regularly exceeding nuclear output on a monthly basis starting in March 2025, according to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2026. The gap between renewables and nuclear widened dramatically, as global solar capacity increased 27% year-on-year to 2,383 GW while nuclear capacity rose only 1.5% to 399.5 GW, with actual solar additions likely even higher than reported. Nuclear's slow growth, lengthy construction timelines, and limited deployment of small modular reactors contrast sharply with the rapid expansion of solar and wind, supported by falling battery costs.