The International Energy Agency confirmed that solar photovoltaic power generated more electricity globally in the first half of this year than coal-fired power plants for the first time in history — a milestone the IEA's Executive Director called "the most significant milestone in the history of the energy transition."
Global solar generation reached 2,847 TWh in H1, surpassing coal's 2,731 TWh. The shift has been driven by an extraordinary collapse in solar panel costs, which have fallen 89% in the past decade, combined with an unprecedented build-out of capacity in China, Europe, India and the US.
What Comes Next
The IEA projects solar will generate 30% of global electricity by 2030, up from roughly 13% today.
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The headline doesn't do the article justice. The real story is buried in paragraph six.
My daughter works in exactly this field and has been describing exactly these dynamics for months. It's validating to see it covered at this level of detail.
The statistics cited here are genuinely alarming. I work in the field and can confirm the trends described match what we're seeing on the ground. Thank you for bringing this to a wider audience.