Chinese solar PV installations have reached 14.08GW in July 2026, according to the latest data from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).
This represents a 28% year-on-year increase in solar PV installations, while wind power installations also surged, totalling 8.45GW, up 271% from the same period last year. These figures mark a significant monthly rebound for the country’s wind and PV sectors.
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Despite the year-on-year increase in July, cumulative solar PV installations for the first seven months of the year reached 86.15GW at the end of July, representing a 61% year-on-year decline. Wind power additions fell by 12% to 47.07GW over the same period.
However, total installed power capacity reached 4.08TW by the end of July, up 11% year on year. PV capacity stood at 1,290GW (+16.1% YoY), while wind capacity hit 690GW (+19.5% YoY). Meanwhile, the national average utilisation hours for power generation equipment totalled 1,671 hours in the first seven months, down 135 hours from the previous year.
Industry analysts attribute the steep year-on-year drop in cumulative PV installations to a policy-driven installation rush in May 2025, which led to low cumulative installations for the first half of 2026. Despite the cumulative decline, July marked a return to monthly growth. Distributed PV—particularly the residential segment—has outperformed expectations and is expected to be a key variable for full-year 2026 volumes. Current forecasts project annual PV installations to range between 160GW and 200GW.
As of the end of June, China’s combined cumulative wind and PV installations reached 1.98TW, accounting for 48.4% of the nation’s total installed capacity—underscoring the growing share of wind and solar PV in China’s energy mix.
