Solar seen outshining coal in '26

China's installed solar power capacity is on track to surpass coal for the first time in 2026, solidifying the country's position as the world's premier powerhouse in the renewable energy revolution, said industry experts.

The new energy sector is set to continue to scale at an extraordinary pace in 2026, with new power generation capacity projected to surge past the 400 million kilowatt mark — setting a new global benchmark for clean energy deployment, said Hao Yingjie, a spokesman for the China Electricity Council.

The combined capacity of wind and solar power is expected to account for half of the nation's total power generation capacity by the end of 2026, Hao said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.

Driven by China's ambitious plan to peak carbon before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, the CEC anticipates that China will add more than 400 million kilowatts of new generation capacity in 2026 alone, with new energy sources — primarily wind and solar power — expected to contribute over 300 million kW.

Figures released by the council reveal that China's electricity consumption surged to a record 10.37 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2025, a staggering volume that is now more than double the total annual power usage in the United States.

The world's second-largest economy further solidified its position as the top global power consumer last year, which exceeds the combined power usage of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, it said.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said this remarkable growth cements the renewable sector as the primary engine driving the nation's historic energy evolution.

This milestone underscores the accelerating pace of China's energy transition, as solar capacity specifically moves to eclipse coal as the leading individual source of installed capacity, Lin said.

According to the National Energy Administration, the pace of China's low-carbon transition has accelerated sharply in recent years, with cumulative renewable capacity surpassing 1.8 billion kW.

Renewable generation reached approximately 4 trillion kWh last year and surpassed the total electricity demand of the 27 EU member states, which stands at roughly 3.8 trillion kWh, said Xing Yiteng, deputy director-general of the department of development and planning of the administration.

China's energy investment also surged rapidly last year, with total capital expenditure on key projects exceeding 3.5 trillion yuan ($503.6 billion) for the first time, a year-on-year increase of nearly 11 percent, a growth rate that significantly outpaced other major economic sectors, said Xing.

The council said China's total installed power capacity is expected to reach approximately 4.3 billion kW by the end of 2026. Non-fossil energy sources are expected to make up about 2.7 billion kW of that total, representing roughly 63 percent of the nation's entire power assets, it said.

In contrast, the share of coal-fired power is expected to continue its downward trajectory, falling to approximately 31 percent of total capacity, it said.

China's total social electricity consumption in 2025 rose 5 percent year-on-year, and the council expects this momentum to accelerate in 2026, forecasting a growth rate between 5 percent and 6 percent.

The surge of power consumption last year is largely attributable to the rapid expansion of high-tech and equipment manufacturing, which saw electricity demand grow by 6.4 percent, leading the broader manufacturing sector as industries undergo structural upgrades and digital transformations, it said.

Driven by the massive rollout of electric vehicles, charging piles and 5G infrastructure, power demand in the information technology and software services sector jumped 17 percent year-on-year.

Notably, electricity consumed by the EV charging and battery-swapping services sector skyrocketed 48.8 percent in 2025, the CEC said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn