On August 2, China’s National Energy Administration released the PV power construction data for H1 2025. The figures show that over the past six months, China has added 211.61GW of new PV capacity, more than doubling last year’s figures when installs reached 102.5GW in H1 2024.
Broken down by segment, installs were up year-on-year, with the sharpest increase from commercial and industrial (C&I). During H1 2025, C&I added 87.18GW, up 135% from the same period a year ago, while residential solar added 25.63GW in H1 2025, up 62% YoY. In total, distributed solar numbers for the first half of 2025 were at 112.81GW, an increase of 113% from the same period a year ago, while utility-scale numbers were up by 99% with 98.8GW.
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In terms of utility-scale solar, 19 provinces in China added new capacity at the gigawatt level or above in H1 2025. Xinjiang added the most with 19GW of new installations, followed by Yunnan, which saw over 11GW of new additions. Four other provinces—Jiangsu, Shanxi, Ningxia, and Shandong—also exceeded 5GW in new PV capacity additions in H1 2025.
With C&I witnessing the most rapid growth in H1 2025, 20 provinces achieved GW-level additions. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shandong remained at the forefront, while Hubei and Anhui also joined the list, bringing the total number of provinces with more than 5GW in new C&I solar PV installations to six.
The China PV Industry Association (CPIA) stated that the global PV market will maintain its high growth in 2025. Last week, the association revised upward its global market forecasts for new PV installations from 531-583GW to 570-630GW, and China’s new PV installation from 215-255GW to 270-300GW.
However, CPIA also noted that the growth rate of the global PV market is not as optimistic and is expected to decline significantly. A sentiment shared by European trade association SolarPower Europe, which forecasts solar PV to decrease in 2025 across the European Union. In a recent report, it forecast 64.2GW of solar PV additions between the 27 EU members, slightly down from 65.1GW solar installed in 2024.
