China solar capacity reaches 1,286 GW, surpassing coal for first time

Installed capacity surpasses coal

Data released by China's National Energy Administration shows that solar photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts at the end of July 2026. This figure edged past the 1,285 gigawatts recorded for coal-fired power plants. Total nationwide power generation capacity reached 4.08 billion kilowatts, with solar installations accounting for 31.5% of the overall total. Large arrays across western and northwestern China have driven much of this capacity growth over recent years.

The National Energy Administration announced the milestone in a statement published across official channels.

At the end of July this year, the installed capacity of solar energy in China reached 1,286 million kilowatts.

Distribution across centralized and local systems

The expansion of solar infrastructure encompasses both utility-scale facilities and rooftop installations. Of the 1,286 million kilowatts in total solar capacity, centralized photovoltaic plants account for 704 million kilowatts, while distributed solar installations represent 582 million kilowatts. In July 2026 alone, China added 13.73 million kilowatts of solar capacity, an increase of 43% compared to July 2025.

State news agency Xinhua reported on the overall expansion of generation capacity across the first seven months of the year.

In the first seven months of the year, 193.97 million kW of new electrical capacity were added, of which 85.65 million came from photovoltaics, over 40% of the total.

Generation limits and continuing coal dependency

Installed capacity does not match actual power delivery across China's electrical grid. In the first seven months of 2026, photovoltaic systems generated 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, representing about 13% of national electricity consumption. Solar panels generate power intermittently based on daylight and weather conditions, whereas coal-fired stations operate continuously day and night. According to Liu Zhiqiang, deputy director of the planning and development department at the China Electricity Council, coal will continue to serve as the main support and guarantee for the power system in the short term.

Grid integration bottlenecks also constrain clean power use. Research from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor indicates that over one-quarter of potential wind and solar power generation was curtailed during the first half of 2026. China also relies on coal generation to stabilize power supply during energy shortages, to run energy-intensive data centers for artificial intelligence infrastructure, and to supply coal gasification plants that produce chemicals otherwise derived from imported crude oil.

Policy reforms and long-term emission targets

The capacity milestone arrives as the pace of new solar installations experiences a contraction. From January to July 2026, China added 62% less solar capacity than in the corresponding period of 2025. This deceleration followed regulatory reforms that eliminated guaranteed feed-in tariffs for new solar projects in summer 2025, subjecting wholesale power pricing directly to market forces. Concurrently, manufacturing overcapacity has depressed equipment prices, causing several Chinese solar manufacturing companies to report financial losses.

Beijing maintains broader climate and clean energy objectives established under the 15th Five-Year Plan. The national framework targets 6,000 billion kilowatt-hours of annual generation from renewable energy by 2030, with wind and solar contributing more than 4,000 billion kilowatt-hours. China is also pursuing national goals to peak total carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.