- Giants
- Our World in Data
- Solar capacity installation time
Solar capacity installation time
Our World in Data's line chart drew 237.3K views on X: 4.0x its typical post and #6 of 139 Our World in Data charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
In 2004, it took the world a year to add one gigawatt of solar power, now it takes a day.
Why it spread
This post spread because it paired a hot topic that week with an independent author, reaching 237,281 views, 2,286 likes, 591 reposts, 84 quotes, and 276 saves, with a quote rate above average and source reach in the top quarter.
What worked
- The post text turns a large change into a simple before and after: a year to add one gigawatt in 2004 versus a day now.
- The topic was timely, since it was a hot topic that week, which helped it travel beyond the account's usual audience.
- The author is independent, and the source reach landed in the top quarter, giving the chart extra credibility and distribution.
What to borrow
We could take one of our own long term trends and compress it into a single before and after sentence, then let the chart carry the detail.
Careful
Do not over read this as proof that any chart on a hot topic will spread, and do not copy the framing without checking that our own data supports the same contrast.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Our World in Data.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this line chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "How long did it take the world to install a gigawatt of solar power capacity?" by Our World in Data. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 47173ed48507.
Approximate values. Our two readings of this chart agreed only in part (confidence 0.44 of 1), so check the original before you quote a number. The API marks it lowConfidence, and ?min_confidence=0.5 leaves it out.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/47173ed48507 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/47173ed48507/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/47173ed48507/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/47173ed48507/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Our World in Data
All 139
Other giants using a line chart
All 295
Questions people ask
How far did Our World in Data's "Solar capacity installation time" chart travel?
237,281 views, 2,286 likes, 591 reposts and 276 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @MaxCRoser gets about 59K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A line chart. Time to install a gigawatt of solar drops dramatically.
Can I use Our World in Data's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Our World in Data. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.