China added 110.83 GW of solar power capacity in the first nine months (9M) of 2026, down 53.9% year-over-year (YoY) from 240.27 GW, according to the latest electricity statistics released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).

Despite the decline, solar accounted for the largest share of new power generation capacity additions during the period, with 38.8 GW added in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026.

Thermal power capacity additions stood at 66.25 GW, up 16.9% YoY from 56.68 GW, while wind power capacity additions declined 0.7% YoY to 60.66 GW from 61.08 GW.

Meanwhile, hydropower additions increased 27.9% YoY to 9.16 GW from 7.16 GW.

Nuclear power capacity additions surged 293.5% to 6.02 GW from 1.53 GW in the corresponding period last year.

Cumulative Installations

The country’s cumulative installed solar power capacity reached 1.31 TW at the end of September 2026, up 16.5% YoY.

Thermal power accounted for the largest share of installed capacity at 1.59 TW, up 6% YoY, followed by hydropower at 457.25 GW, up 3.3%. Nuclear power capacity also rose by 9.7% to 68.54 GW.

China’s total installed power generation capacity reached 4.13 TW as of September, up 11.2% from the same period last year.

The national average utilization hours of power generation equipment stood at 2,174 hours during January–September 2026, down 194 hours from the corresponding period last year.

China’s installed solar power capacity had reached 1.29 TW at the end of July 2026, up 16.1% YoY.

To limit excessive solar buildout, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed stricter manufacturing standards for solar cells and modules, introducing minimum conversion-efficiency requirements for different technologies and setting limits on energy consumption, water use, and module degradation.

Under NEA’s Renewable Energy Development Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China set a target to increase its total renewable energy generation capacity to around 3.5 TW by 2030. Annual renewable energy generation is targeted at approximately 6,000 TWh by 2030.