By late July 2026, China's solar fleet reached 1,286 GW, surpassing coal-fired capacity for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration.

China's solar fleet overtook its coal-fired power plants in installed capacity at the end of July 2026, according to data published by the National Energy Administration. Solar capacity stood at 1,286 GW, against 1,285 GW for coal, making solar the country's leading power generation category by installed capacity. This solar expansion extends beyond China's borders: in the United States, Invenergy recently started building a 240 MW solar plant in Ohio, while in Southeast Asia, SunScout signed a 25 MWp solar-plus-storage deal in the Philippines worth 25 million dollars. This Chinese ranking applies solely to grid-connected capacity.

A shift in capacity, not in output

Chinese authorities did not disclose actual power output from solar or coal at that same date, two sectors with very different utilization profiles. According to data published by the National Energy Administration on September 1, China's solar fleet was split at the end of July between 704 GW of ground-mounted or large centralized projects and 582 GW of distributed installations. The country's total power fleet reached 4,080 GW by the end of July 2026, according to national statistics released on August 25.

Chinese solar power output rose 15.5% between January and July compared with the first seven months of 2025, according to the administration. Over that period, it reached 802.4 TWh, or 13% of the country's total electricity consumption. This level illustrates the gradual ramp-up of the solar fleet's contribution to output, even as it remains below its share of installed capacity.

Solar accelerates despite an unfavorable base effect

New solar capacity connected between January and July totaled 85.65 GW, down 62% year-on-year, with the administration attributing the decline to a high comparison base linked to numerous connections in early 2025. In July alone, solar additions reached 13.73 GW, up 43% year-on-year. Solar is part of a rapid expansion of renewable generation capacity in China, where wind power stood at 690 GW installed by the end of July 2026, according to national electricity statistics.

Combined solar and wind capacity thus reached nearly 1,976 GW at that date. Globally, the growing scale of installed solar fleets is also fueling demand for their operation and maintenance, a segment that Wood Mackenzie estimates at 348 GW across the entire global market.

Coal remains central to China's power balance

Overtaking coal in installed capacity does not signal a rapid exit from coal in China's power system. The sector supplied the bulk of the country's electricity for decades and remains a major determinant of its greenhouse gas emissions. Coal-fired power output had nonetheless declined by nearly 2% in 2025, despite rising energy demand, according to data analyzed in February. That decline marked the first annual drop in six years.

China remains the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter and has set two national climate milestones: reaching peak emissions before 2030, then achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. In 2025, the country installed a record 315 GW of solar and 119 GW of wind, accounting for more than 80% of new grid-connected power capacity that year, according to the China Electricity Council. Chinese electricity consumption continued to grow in early 2026, reaching 6,139.9 TWh between January and July, up 4.7% year-on-year, according to the National Energy Administration.