China's Renewable Revolution: Solar Power Outpaces Coal for the First Time
China is celebrating a milestone after its installed solar power generating capacity has officially surpassed coal power for the first time, aligning with its broader goals to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve total carbon neutrality by 2060.
According to multiple news reports citing China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), the country’s installed solar power capacity reached 1,286 GW as of the end of July, pulling ahead of the country's coal-fired power installed capacity, which rose to 1,285 GW. Coal has been a key power generation source for China’s electricity grid for decades, making the country the world's largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Data published in February by global research agency Wood Mackenzie highlighted that the country's coal-fired power generation fell by nearly 2% in 2025, despite rising energy demand. Senior research analyst Sharon Feng for Wood Mac noted that “China’s wind and solar capacity had risen more than ten-fold” to 1,842 GW over the past decade.
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China added 315 GW of solar power and 119 GW of wind power capacity last year, with two sources combining to account for over 80% of the country's total newly installed power generation capacity, according to secondary reports like the Global Times citing data from the China Electricity Council.
"For the first time, photovoltaic installed capacity surpassed coal-fired power, becoming the largest power source category in China," the NEA said on Tuesday, according to reports.
The H1 2026 report marked the first time coal's share of China's total electricity resource mix dropped below 50%, according to the energy administration. The installations of solar farms in China reportedly overtook coal plants in July, becoming the country’s top power capacity source.
Newly installed solar photovoltaic (PV) power capacity in July totaled 13.73 GW, up 43% year-over-year (YOY). The Chinese NEA notes that PV power generation amounted to 802.4 billion kWh (802,000 GWh), representing a 15.5% YOY increase.
The Global Times, citing the NEA, reported that this marks 10.8 percentage points higher than the total social electricity consumption growth rate, which measures changes in the total amount of electricity used over specific periods by an entire society. However, since solar doesn’t perform 24/7 around the clock when the sun isn’t shining, it remains behind coal in terms of power generation.
According to the London-based Energy Institute (EI), U.S. emissions grew four times the rate of China’s emissions growth, representing 40% of the total global emissions increase. U.S. emissions rose by roughly 147 million metric tons over the full year of 2025.
The EI’s Statistical Review of World Energy report highlighted that China’s rush to achieve economic dominance has forced it to build out its energy portfolio. Demand signals have grown among hyperscalers and AI data centers as developers race to meet supercomputing load with more accelerated deployment targets.
In 2025 alone, China’s electricity generation reportedly increased by almost 500 TWh. For comparison, scientific researchers from the nonprofit Our World in Data point out that Germany generates almost exactly that amount, effectively signaling China added a Germany-sized grid to its electricity system in just one year.
China is now outpacing the U.S. on electrification progress and dominates the world in newly installed renewable energy capacity, according to the latest EI statistical review report. China’s massive buildout of large-scale wind and solar projects accounts for 74% globally, compared to roughly 6% of U.S. global utility-scale wind and solar projects.
