The key facts

  • Nuclear generation has barely changed over 26 years, while solar generation grew roughly 2,700-fold
  • Chinese manufacturing capacity sharply reduced prices of photovoltaic systems
  • In the US, new nuclear startups are slowly bringing technologies to market, and nuclear plant construction is getting more expensive

Solar overtakes nuclear

Solar energy is expected to surpass nuclear power in electricity generation for the first time. This is reported by Jan Rosenow, professor of energy policy and climate at the University of Oxford, in a BBC piece, who called solar energy the driving force of the energy transition. The BBC overview is retold by Kun.uz.

What the numbers show

Over the past 26 years, the amount of electricity produced by nuclear power plants worldwide has remained essentially unchanged. Electricity generation from solar energy over the same period grew roughly 2,700-fold. This contrast is explained by cost dynamics: in the United States, the cost of building nuclear plants has risen noticeably in recent decades, while in solar energy, cheaper equipment is expanding its adoption.

China's role and the situation in the US

China played a key role in making solar generation cheaper: the country's enormous manufacturing capacity led to a sharp drop in the prices of photovoltaic systems. In the United States, by contrast, many startups have emerged betting on the development of nuclear energy, but the process of bringing their proposed new nuclear technologies to commercial use is moving slowly.

Geopolitical backdrop

The piece also notes that amid the US war against Iran, disruptions in oil supplies have heightened interest in alternative energy sources. For many countries, increasingly cheap solar power is becoming an important tool for diversifying energy supply.