China installed 110.83 GW of new solar capacity in the first nine months of 2026, down 53.9% year on year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). Despite the sharp decline, third-quarter installations exceeded year-earlier levels, suggesting a recovery in deployment following changes to the country’s renewable electricity pricing mechanism.
China added 110.83 GW of new solar capacity in the first nine months of 2026, down 53.9% from 240.27 GW in the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).
The decline marks a sharp reversal from the record installation growth recorded in 2025, although recent monthly figures suggest that the market may be stabilizing following disruption caused by changes to renewable electricity pricing.
Despite the slowdown, China’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 1.313 TW at the end of September, up 16.5% year on year. Installed wind power capacity stood at approximately 700 GW, up 20.4%, bringing combined wind and solar capacity to more than 2.01 TW, equivalent to around 48.7% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity.
The NEA said China’s total installed power generation capacity reached 4.13 TW, up 11.2% year on year. Average utilization hours across all power generation equipment fell by 194 hours to 2,174 hours during the nine-month period.
The sharp decline in solar additions largely reflects an exceptionally high comparison base in early 2025, when developers accelerated project commissioning ahead of changes to China’s renewable electricity pricing mechanism.
Under reforms announced in February 2025, electricity generated by new wind and solar projects became subject to market-based pricing, with different settlement arrangements applying to projects commissioned before and after June 1.
The approaching deadline triggered a rush to connect projects to the grid, with nearly 93 GW of solar capacity installed in May 2025 alone. As a result, installations reached 212.21 GW in the first half of 2025, compared with 72.07 GW in the first six months of 2026, a decline of approximately 66%.
The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) has identified falling market electricity prices, grid curtailment and rising project-related costs as factors weighing on investment appetite, particularly for utility-scale projects in some resource-rich provinces.
However, the latest figures point to a recovery in installation activity in the second half of the year. China added approximately 38.76 GW of solar capacity in the third quarter, up about 38% from 28.06 GW in the same period of 2025.
New solar installations reached 13.64 GW in September, up 23.6% from 11.04 GW in August and approximately 41.2% year on year.
CPIA has maintained its forecast of 180 GW to 240 GW of new solar installations in 2026. Reaching the lower end of that range would require approximately 69.17 GW of additional capacity in the fourth quarter, equivalent to a monthly average of 23.06 GW, well above the third-quarter average of 12.92 GW.
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