Introducing the world's solar power leader

Hi,

Here’s some good news to start the day:

• Global solar PV installations are on track to reach 655GW in 2025, a 10% increase from 2024, according to SolarPower Europe’s forecasts.

• In the UK, sales of electric vans doubled in April from a year before, according to New AutoMotive.

• Coal’s share of Poland’s electricity mix fell to a new monthly low of 47% in April, according to data collated by Ember.

• Wind and solar’s share of the global electricity mix reached a new monthly high of 19% in March, according to Ember’s data.

• Solar and wind projects now account for 59% of China’s energy investments in Africa, per the South China Morning Post.

• Solar and wind accounted for 98% of new electricity generating capacity in the US in the first quarter of 2025, despite efforts by the new president to unravel clean energy efforts, RenewEconomy reported.

• And US crude oil production will probably drop slightly next year, S&P Global Commodity Insights says.

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Thanks for reading.

Nick Hedley

Editor, The Progress Playbook

How Hungary became the world’s solar energy leader

Hungary has quickly become the world leader in solar energy integration thanks in part to generous government assistance programmes.

Solar accounted for 25% of the country’s electricity generation in 2024, more than any other nation, according to data collated by research group Ember. Hungary overtook Chile last year to claim the top spot.

The solar surge has been remarkable — in 2018, the technology made up just 2% of Hungary’s power output. Importantly, solar’s rise has come at coal’s expense — the dirtiest fossil fuel’s share of the mix fell from 15% to 6% over the same period, even as gas declined as well.

And in August 2024, a new monthly record was set when solar made up 37% of Hungary’s electricity generation.

The backstory: Hungary has above-average solar potential, with average solar radiation of 1,280kWh/m2. Authorities have harnessed this opportunity through a feed-in tariff programme — whereby homes and businesses are paid a fixed price for any power they sell into the grid — and other incentives.

Under the Solar Energy Plus Programme, for example, the government subsidised rooftop solar installations for around 21,000 households. The scheme, which ran for a year, saw the state covering two-thirds of the cost of a solar-plus-storage installation. “The investments strengthen our country’s energy sovereignty, security of supply, and protect the environment,” according to the government.

More than 300,000 small solar arrays with a combined capacity of 2.7GW, mostly on the roofs of family houses, are now operational in Hungary. Including grid-scale facilities, the country has 7.8GW of installed solar generating capacity, per the energy ministry.

Policymakers want to lift that to 12GW by 2030 as part of their push to get to 90% low-carbon power by then, from 74% in 2024.

- Read the full story here.

In numbers: How Beijing cleaned up its air

Beijing’s air pollution levels have fallen dramatically since peaking 12 years ago thanks to a series of regulatory interventions, data shows.

- Read the full story here.

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Michigan explores solar power on contaminated brownfield sites

Last year, the US state of Michigan won a $129 million grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency for utility-scale renewable energy projects, including those on contaminated brownfield sites.

- Read the full story here.

Other articles you might find interesting:

• Lessons from Wales’ future generations law

• Inside Florida’s unlikely transformation into a solar superpower

• These countries are leading the way to 100% renewable electricity

• What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution

• How Finland won the war on homelessness (mostly)

• Next-generation sand battery to be built in Finland

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