China’s solar market to cool in 2018 as global demand edges over 106GW – EnergyTrend

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
EnergyTrend said that it expected Chinese market will slow down in 2018 through to 2020. Image: EnergyTrend

Taiwan-based market research firm, EnergyTrend expects Chinese end-market demand to contract slightly in 2018, after posting record installations for several years in a row and accounting for around 50% of global solar installations in 2017. 

EnergyTrend said that it expected Chinese market will slow down in 2018 through to 2020. Total annual grid connections, including ground-mounted projects, Distributed Generation, PV Poverty Alleviation and Top Runner projects combines would reach 46.7GW in 2018. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The recovery in the European market in 2018 is expected to support global demand of 105.88GW, according to the market research firm, up slightly from just over 100GW in 2017. 

EnergyTrend reiterated that China installed 52.83GW in 2017, retaining its dominant position, while the US was the second largest market with installations of around 12GW. 

India was said to have surpassed Japan as the third largest market, installing 9.26GW, compared to Japan’s 6.09GW. 

EnergyTrend noted that 2016 witnessed the highest growth in global solar market, increasing 42.5% over the previous year, while the growth in 2017 was 26%. Growth in 2018 would therefore be in the range 3 to 6%, only. 

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

September 15, 2025
Sunrun has priced a securitisation of leases and power purchase agreements, taking its non-recourse debt capital raised in Q3 above US$1.5 billion. 
September 15, 2025
Norwegian energy firm Statkraft has agreed to divest a portion of its renewable energy portfolio to Serentica Renewables.
September 15, 2025
Vikram Solar has secured a contract to supply 200MW of modules to AB Energia, a domestic solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions provider. 
September 12, 2025
Colombian energy supplier Celsia is seeking more than US$1.2 billion in investment to build wind and solar generation projects in Peru. 
September 12, 2025
ACME Venus Urja has secured INR3.8 billion (US$43 million) to develop and construct a solar-plus-storage project in Barmer, Rajasthan.
September 11, 2025
Founder Group has won a RM10 million (US$2.3 million) engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract for a 30MW solar plant in Malaysia.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines