According to the Seda-ye Sama News Agency, solar panels have overtaken coal to become the largest source of power generation capacity in China, highlighting the rapid expansion of green energy in the country.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV, citing the National Energy Administration, reported that China’s solar power capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts at the end of July, accounting for 31.5% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity.

The China Electricity Council had previously reported that solar capacity at the end of June was only one gigawatt below coal-fired power capacity.

China remains a major player in the global solar energy supply chain, and investment in the sector is expected to exceed two trillion yuan ($298 billion) over the next five years.

China’s solar power generation also increased by 15.5% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, reaching 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to about one-eighth of the country’s total electricity generation.

The record was achieved despite a significant slowdown in the installation of renewable energy capacity in China this year. The decline followed changes to energy-support policies that ended guaranteed revenue payments for wind and solar projects.

Bloomberg reported that China added about 86 gigawatts of new solar capacity to the grid during the first seven months of 2026, compared with 93 gigawatts added in May 2025 alone, the last month before the new policy took effect.

— ISNA