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China’s solar installations fall 54% year on year despite September rebound

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China’s solar installations fall 54% year on year despite September rebound

China added 110.83 GW of new solar capacity in the first nine months of 2026, down 53.9% from 240.27 GW in the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The decline marks a sharp reversal from the record installation growth recorded in 2025, although recent monthly figures suggest that the market may be stabilizing following disruption caused by changes to renewable electricity pricing.

Despite the slowdown, China’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 1.313 TW at the end of September, up 16.5% year on year. Installed wind power capacity stood at approximately 700 GW, up 20.4%, bringing combined wind and solar capacity to more than 2.01 TW, equivalent to around 48.7% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity.

The NEA said China’s total installed power generation capacity reached 4.13 TW, up 11.2% year on year. Average utilization hours across all power generation equipment fell by 194 hours to 2,174 hours during the nine-month period.

The sharp decline in solar additions largely reflects an exceptionally high comparison base in early 2025, when developers accelerated project commissioning ahead of changes to China’s renewable electricity pricing mechanism.

Under reforms announced in February 2025, electricity generated by new wind and solar projects became subject to market-based pricing, with different settlement arrangements applying to projects commissioned before and after June 1.

The approaching deadline triggered a rush to connect projects to the grid, with nearly 93 GW of solar capacity installed in May 2025 alone. 07 GW in the first six months of 2026, a decline of approximately 66%.


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