Solar panels produced more electricity worldwide than nuclear reactors across all of 2025, the first full year in which that has happened, according to the latest World Nuclear Industry Status Report. Global solar generation jumped about 30% last year, while output from the world's operating reactors rose just 1.1%, pv magazine reported on September 29.

The milestone matters because it marks a change in which low-carbon source supplies more of the world's power, not just which one is growing faster. Nuclear plants generated 2,703 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025, the report found, and nuclear's share of global electricity slipped to 8.8%, its lowest level in about four and a half decades and roughly half its 1996 peak of 17.5%.

The finding should be read with its source in mind. The report is an independent annual assessment overseen by French energy consultant Mycle Schneider, and its analyses have often questioned the nuclear industry's prospects. A separate global dataset from the energy think tank Ember, published earlier this year, described solar as nearly level with nuclear in 2025 rather than ahead. Both agree on the direction of travel.

Growth Rates Behind the Crossover

The gap in growth is the core of the story. According to the report, global solar capacity rose by 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 to 2,383 GW, a 27% increase, while wind added a record 159 GW to reach 1,291 GW. Installed nuclear capacity rose just 1.5 GW to 399.5 GW, and operating nuclear capacity slipped by 0.5 GW to 368.6 GW.

Those solar figures may be conservative. Newer data from the International Energy Agency's photovoltaic program suggest global additions reached roughly 690 GW in 2025, about 180 GW more than the report used, pv magazine noted.

Nuclear's modest growth came largely from China, where generation rose 7.6%. Outside China, nuclear output fell 0.2% and remained well below its 2006 level. Schneider told pv magazine the state of the industry is "quite sobering for those who expected to find a booming sector."

A Monthly Streak That Began in Spring 2025

The annual result followed a string of monthly firsts. Wind generation alone surpassed nuclear in March 2025, and solar followed in April, the first month in which global solar output exceeded nuclear. From March 2025 through June 2026, either solar or wind individually out-generated nuclear every month, and in March, April and May 2026 both did.

Batteries are part of the explanation. Grid-scale storage expanded sharply in 2025, with 104 GW and 257 gigawatt-hours connected during the year, according to the report, which identifies falling battery costs as a potential enabler of continued solar growth. Storage lets midday solar power shift into evening hours, helping grids absorb more of it.

Two Datasets, One Direction

Ember's Global Electricity Review found that solar generation rose 30% to 2,778 TWh in 2025, overtook wind for the first time and nearly drew level with nuclear, generating more than nuclear from April through September. Ember expects both solar and wind to overtake nuclear in 2026. The two organizations use different datasets, and estimates of rooftop and other small-scale solar vary widely, which can shift close annual comparisons.

What the milestone does not mean is equally important. A terawatt-hour from solar and one from nuclear are not interchangeable on a grid, because reactors can run around the clock while solar output rises and falls with daylight and seasons. The report is also skeptical that small modular reactors will deliver on their commercial promises, while federal funding in the United States continues to support projects involving GE Vernova, TerraPower, X-energy and Kairos Power, many of which remain years from commercial operation.

U.S. Grids and Household Power Bills

The American picture looks different from the global one. In 2025, utility-scale solar generated 296,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the United States, up 34% from 2024, and small-scale solar added an estimated 93,000 GWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That combined total of roughly 389,000 GWh is about half of what U.S. reactors produced in 2024, the most recent full year in an earlier EIA analysis, which put nuclear output at 781 billion kilowatt-hours, or about 781,000 GWh.

Dispatchable sources such as natural gas, coal and nuclear still accounted for 75% of U.S. utility-scale generation in 2025, the EIA said. That is why large plants like Arizona's Palo Verde, one of the country's largest nuclear stations, about 45 miles west of downtown Phoenix, remain central to regional reliability, as Nature World News reported in its coverage of the plant's ownership transfer.

For households, the global crossover will not change a power bill directly. Retail electricity rates are generally set through state utility commissions and reflect fuel prices, transmission costs, and local demand. The pathway to consumers is slower, running through which power plants utilities build, what they cost, and how quickly storage lets daytime solar serve evening demand. Homeowners weighing rooftop solar should check their utility's current compensation rules and state programs, which vary widely, before relying on national trends.

Reactor Pipeline and the Road Ahead

The nuclear industry is not standing still. As of July 1, 2026, 411 reactors were operating in 31 countries, not counting 30 units in long-term outage, and 73 were under construction, the most since 1987, with 37 of them in China. Construction starts reached 12 in 2025, the highest annual total since 2010.

Delays remain a defining feature. None of the 16 reactors connected to grids between 2023 and 2025 was completed on schedule, and their average construction time was 10.9 years, according to the report. Four reactors started up in 2025 while seven closed, the first negative annual balance since 2021.

Readers can track the next data points through Ember's monthly electricity data and the EIA's Electric Power Monthly. If Ember's projection holds, 2026 may bring a milestone both datasets agree on, with solar and wind each out-generating nuclear for a full year.

An independent report finds solar produced more electricity than nuclear worldwide in 2025 for the first time, driven by roughly 30% solar growth against nuclear's 1.1%. Ember's data show the two nearly tied, and in the United States nuclear still generates about twice as much as solar. The trend is clear, but its effects on grids and bills will play out gradually through utility planning.

What Readers Want to Know

Did solar really produce more electricity than nuclear in 2025?

According to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, yes. It found global solar generation grew about 30% and surpassed nuclear's 2,703 TWh for the first time over a full year. Ember's separate review found the two nearly tied, with solar ahead from April through September.

Who publishes the World Nuclear Industry Status Report?

It is an independent annual report overseen by French energy consultant Mycle Schneider. It is not a government or United Nations publication, and its assessments have often been skeptical of nuclear power's prospects.

Is nuclear power declining worldwide?

Global nuclear output rose 1.1% in 2025, driven by China, while generation outside China fell 0.2%. Seventy-three reactors were under construction as of July 1, 2026, the most since 1987.

Does solar beat nuclear in the United States?

No. EIA data show U.S. solar, including rooftop systems, generated about 389,000 GWh in 2025, roughly half of the 781,000 GWh U.S. reactors produced in 2024.

Will this lower my electricity bill?

Not directly. Rates are generally set through state utility commissions and depend on fuel, transmission and local demand. Changes in the generation mix affect bills gradually through utility planning.

Why do batteries matter for solar?

Batteries store midday solar power for use in the evening. The report counted 104 GW of grid-scale storage connected worldwide in 2025.