The world adds a third terawatt of solar power

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Yale E360 or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The world passed 3 terawatts of installed solar power capacity in March 2026
• It took nearly seven decades to reach the first terawatt, but just two years for each of the last two terawatts, reflecting a sharp acceleration in deployment

🔭 The context: Solar power took nearly 70 years to reach its first terawatt after the invention of the silicon solar cell in 1954
• Since then, growth has accelerated dramatically: the first terawatt was reached in 2022, the second in 2024 and the third in 2026
• Developing nations hit hardest by recent energy shocks, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Cuba, are among those driving adoption, alongside China, which accounts for more than half of global installations

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Faster solar deployment, especially in energy-insecure developing nations, offers a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports and lower power-sector emissions, even as extreme weather and conflict-driven energy crises unfold elsewhere in this digest

⏭️ What's next: BloombergNEF projects the world will reach 9 terawatts of installed solar capacity by 2036, continuing the current pace of acceleration

💬 One quote: “The global solar boom is now spurring a push to build out transmission lines that can ferry energy from where it is produced to where it is needed.”

📈 One stat: Global solar capacity reached 1TW by 2022, 2TW by 2024 and 3TW by 2026; China accounts for more than 50% of global installations

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