China’s Solar Capacity Surpasses Coal for First Time in Historic Energy Shift
China’s photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity has historically surpassed coal power for the first time, reaching 1.286 billion kilowatts as of the end of July 2026, according to an announcement by the National Energy Administration on September 1. The milestone makes solar the largest power source category in the world’s second-largest economy, a landmark moment in the country’s green energy transition.
A Historic First
As of July 31, 2026, China’s total PV installed capacity reached 1.286 billion kW, comprising 704 million kW of centralized solar and 582 million kW of distributed solar. Coal power installed capacity stood at 1.285 billion kW, narrowly trailing solar. PV now accounts for 31.5 percent of China’s total installed power capacity of 4.08 billion kW.
“This is a landmark event of milestone significance in China’s energy green low-carbon transformation process,” said Liu Zhiqiang, deputy director of the Planning and Development Department at the China Electricity Council. “The new power system with new energy as the main body is accelerating construction.”
China News reported that in July 2026 alone, PV added 13.73 million kW of new capacity, up 43 percent year-on-year. From January to July, cumulative new PV installations reached 85.65 million kW, accounting for over 40 percent of all new power capacity added nationwide.
The Road to This Milestone
The achievement builds on years of aggressive renewable energy expansion. In April 2025, China’s combined wind and solar capacity first surpassed thermal power, as People’s Daily reported at the time. By May 2025, PV capacity alone had crossed the 1,000 GW (1 terawatt) threshold. By the end of 2025, total PV installed capacity had reached 1.2 billion kW, up 35 percent year-on-year, according to data from the National Energy Administration.
China has built a complete PV industry chain spanning research, development, and manufacturing. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), PV conversion efficiency repeatedly broke world records, with costs falling rapidly. Globally, eight out of every ten PV modules are now made in China.
Generation Gap Remains
Despite the capacity milestone, installed capacity does not equal actual power generation. PV utilization hours average only 1,000 to 1,300 hours per year, compared to 4,000 to 5,000 hours for coal power, as Sina Finance noted in its analysis.
From January to July 2026, PV power generation reached 802.4 billion kWh, up 15.5 percent year-on-year, representing 13 percent of total social electricity consumption. While significant, coal power generation in the first half of 2026 still totaled 2.5 trillion kWh, with coal’s share of total generation falling below 50 percent for the first time (49.7 percent).
“PV power generation is constrained by day-night alternation and meteorological conditions, with significant intermittency and volatility characteristics, and utilization hours far lower than coal power,” Liu explained. “In the short term, coal power remains China’s main supporting power source, playing a system safety net role.”
Policy Framework for the Future
The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the “15th Five-Year Plan” for Renewable Energy Development in July 2026, setting ambitious targets for 2030. The plan calls for renewable energy annual generation of approximately 6 trillion kWh, with wind and solar combined generating over 4 trillion kWh annually. Wind and solar installed capacity is targeted to reach 2.8 billion kW, exceeding 50 percent of total capacity.
The plan also introduces, for the first time, targets for renewable energy’s “reliable substitution” capability — converting installed capacity advantage into dependable power supply.
What’s Next
Liu said China will pursue technological innovation and system optimization to improve PV’s confidence output and peak generation capability, exploring diversified models such as PV-storage integration, PV-thermal complementarity, and PV hydrogen production. This transformation aims to move PV from being “dependent on weather” to “dispatchable and predictable.”
Industry projections suggest PV investment over the next five years could exceed 2 trillion yuan, further cementing China’s global leadership in solar technology. The China Electricity Council estimates that by the end of 2026, non-fossil energy will account for 63 percent of installed capacity, with coal’s share declining to around 31 percent.
As China’s energy transition accelerates, the gap between installed capacity and actual generation will narrow as storage technologies mature and grid integration improves. The historic PV-over-coal milestone signals not just a symbolic shift, but a fundamental restructuring of the world’s largest power system — one with profound implications for global energy markets and climate action.