Chart: Why China's solar boom is slowing down - Carbon Brief

Solar power has been a major element of China’s renewables buildout since the mid-2010s.

The country installed 315 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2025, adding more than half of all new solar globally. The year before, it added 277GW.

But the picture in 2026 to date is very different. Installations in March fell 56% year-on-year to 9GW, while new capacity in April totalled 10GW, a 79% drop compared to a year earlier, according to Carbon Brief’s analysis of official data.

Domestic uncertainty

The lower pace in 2026 had been anticipated by analysts.