China Says Solar Power Capacity Has Surpassed Coal for the First Time

China’s installed solar capacity has overtaken coal-fired capacity for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration, marking a new point in the country’s rapid renewable expansion.

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As of the end of July this year, China’s installed solar power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts.

Solar photovoltaic capacity stood at 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, the agency said. Coal-fired power capacity reached 1.285 billion kilowatts, leaving solar narrowly ahead as China’s largest installed power source category.

Solar generation also continued to grow. Output increased 15.5% in the first seven months of 2026 to 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, or about one-eighth of the country’s total generation. The energy administration did not provide a comparable figure for coal-fired generation during the same period.

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For the first time, photovoltaic installed capacity surpassed coal-fired power, becoming the largest power source category in China.

The shift is significant for China’s power system, where coal has dominated generation for decades and driven much of the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions. China remains the world’s largest emitter, but it has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

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have maintained a steady trend of rapid growth

The country installed a record 315 gigawatts of solar capacity and 119 gigawatts of wind capacity last year. Together, those additions represented more than 80% of newly installed power-generation capacity, according to the China Electricity Council. Coal generation fell by nearly 2% in 2025 despite rising energy demand, the first decline in six years, according to data reviewed by AFP.

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increasingly prominent role