The rise of solar power generation in China is inseparable from the continuous expansion of scale and the steady rise of power generation. As of the end of May 2025, China's total photovoltaic installed capacity has historically exceeded 1 billion kilowatts, reaching 1.08 billion kilowatts, equivalent to the total installed capacity of about 48 Three Gorges power stations, accounting for 30% of the country's total installed power generation capacity, and nearly half of the total global photovoltaic installed capacity. In terms of power generation, the growth momentum has been rapid in recent years, with a monthly power generation of 55.93 billion kWh in July 2025, a significant increase over the same period in 2023, and the annual power generation has far exceeded the cumulative level of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, which can generate 1.2 trillion kWh of clean electricity a year, meet the annual electricity demand of nearly 500 million households, replace 152 million tons of standard coal, and effectively reduce carbon emissions.
Technological innovation is the core support for the high-quality development of solar power generation in China. By the end of 2025, the market for N-type monocrystalline silicon wafers will account for 97%, and 182mm and 210mm large-size silicon wafers will become the mainstream. In the field of cells, the mass production efficiency of TOPCon cells continued to improve, accounting for 87% of the market, the consumption of silver paste decreased significantly, and technological progress promoted a significant reduction in the cost of the entire industry chain, with the prices of silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells, and modules falling by 76.3%, 82.8%, 71.1%, and 62.1% respectively during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. At the same time, China's scientific research strength continues to increase, with a total of 27 global battery efficiency records during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, accounting for 55% of the global total, and next-generation photovoltaic technologies such as perovskite have also entered the eve of GW-level mass production.
The optimization of industrial layout and the expansion of application scenarios have further released the development potential of solar power generation. The layout of China's photovoltaic industry chain continues to adjust, and the production capacity of core links such as silicon wafers has shifted from the east to areas with better energy resources such as Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, achieving deep coupling with green energy. In terms of application mode, centralized and distributed photovoltaics have developed in tandem, with nearly half of the new installed capacity of distributed photovoltaics accounting for nearly half during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and rooftop photovoltaic, agricultural photovoltaic complementarity, fishery and photovoltaic complementarity and other models have been widely promoted, which has not only revitalized idle land resources, but also driven rural revitalization. In the global market, China's photovoltaic industry occupies a dominant position, with silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells, and module production capacity accounting for more than 80% of the world, and the total export volume during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period exceeded 180 billion US dollars, covering 47 gigawatt markets, and emerging markets are rising rapidly.
Looking ahead, China's solar power industry will shift from scale expansion to high-quality leap. It is expected that by the end of 2026, the installed capacity of solar power generation will surpass that of coal power for the first time, and the total installed capacity of "wind and solar" will account for about half of the total installed power generation. In the next ten years, China will continue to promote technological iteration, promote the large-scale application of new technologies such as perovskite, improve energy storage and transmission supporting facilities, and solve consumption problems. At the same time, we will continue to deepen international cooperation, promote the optimization of the export structure of photovoltaic products, and help the global energy green transformation. From scratch, from weak to strong, the development process of China's solar power generation is a vivid epitome of China's energy transformation. Nowadays,Solar energy has become the "foundation" of new energy development in our country, not only providing solid support for achieving the "dual carbon" goals, but also contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the development of global clean energy, leading humanity toward a greener, cleaner, and more sustainable future.