Solar power surpasses coal in China’s installed capacity for the first time

Solar power has overtaken coal in China’s installed generating capacity for the first time, marking a new milestone in the country’s rapidly changing electricity system.

Cumulative photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts by the end of July, according to figures cited by the financial outlet Cailian. Coal-fired capacity stood at 1,285 GW. Of the solar total, 704 GW came from centralized installations and 582 GW from distributed systems located closer to consumers.

The shift concerns installed capacity rather than actual electricity production. China still relies on coal for effective generation, but renewable sources are taking a growing share of new capacity. The country added 85.65 GW of solar capacity from January through July, down 62% from a year earlier. Cailian attributed the decline mainly to the high comparison base created by a wave of installations between January and May 2025.

Solar output nonetheless continued to grow. Photovoltaic generation reached 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours in the first seven months, up 15.5% year on year, and accounted for 13% of national electricity consumption, 1.7 percentage points above the 2025 average.

Renewables as a whole generated 41.2% of China’s electricity in the first half of the year, exceeding 40% for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration. Beijing aims for non-fossil sources, including renewables, nuclear power and storage, to provide half of national electricity by 2030. Recent assessments by Ember and Greenpeace said the expansion of wind, solar and storage is bringing China closer to a turning point, while warning that the grid must better absorb the new capacity and reduce coal’s continuing role in ensuring supply. China has set targets to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060.