Batteries are bringing ‘anytime solar’ closer

Solar power has always had one fairly obvious problem: the sun goes down every evening. Fossil fuels have traditionally stepped in after dark, but rapidly expanding battery storage is beginning to change that.

Solar supplied a record 10% of global electricity during the first half of 2026, nearly double its share three years earlier. And at midday it met more than a quarter of worldwide electricity demand, but its contribution still dropped close to zero during non-sunny hours.

Energy think tank Ember expects 459 gigawatt-hours of new battery capacity to be added globally in 2026, a 50% rise from 2025. In theory, that would be enough to shift 34% of new daily solar generation into evenings and nights. California is already showing what is possible: solar and batteries supplied more than a quarter of its evening electricity demand during the period.

This is not quite round-the-clock solar everywhere just yet. Batteries must be deployed faster, connected effectively and used more efficiently. Still, falling costs and real-world results suggest solar’s night shift is finally beginning.