China's Solar and Wind Power Capacities Overtake Thermal Power, Accounting for 47% of Total

China's solar and wind power generation facilities have rapidly expanded, surpassing thermal power generation capacity for the first time.

According to the "Annual Development Report on China's Power Construction Industry" released by the China Power Construction Enterprise Association on the 18th [18th of August 2026], China's total power generation capacity reached 3.9 billion kW (kilowatts) at the end of last year [2025], marking a 16.2% increase from a year earlier.

Among them, solar and wind power generation capacity stood at 1.84 billion kW (1.2 billion kW for solar and 640 million kW for wind), accounting for 47.3% of the total power generation capacity.

Thermal power capacity was recorded at 1.54 billion kW.

China Energy News Network explained that this is the first time solar and wind power generation facilities have exceeded thermal power.

Solar and wind also accounted for an overwhelming proportion of newly installed power generation facilities.

Out of the 550 million kW of newly installed power generation capacity last year [2025], solar and wind made up 440 million kW, representing 79.7%.

The report evaluated that "wind and solar power have established themselves as the absolute main drivers of growth in new power generation facilities."

As renewable energy power generation facilities surge, the expansion of power grids to transmit the generated electricity to consumption areas is also accelerating.

Last year [2025], investment by major Chinese power companies reached 1.7323 trillion yuan (approximately 361.58 trillion won).

Among this, investment in power grid construction reached 639.5 billion yuan, up 5.1% from the previous year, while investment in DC power grids increased by 25.7%.

The report explained that the steady expansion of 220 kV and above transmission and transformation facilities, along with accelerated construction of major DC transmission networks, is supporting the grid connection and long-distance transmission of large-scale renewable energy.

China is recently constructing large-scale wind and solar power bases centered around Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Gansu, while also expanding offshore wind power and distributed solar facilities in rural and urban areas.

However, unlike the scale of power generation facilities, the proportion of actual power generation remains high for thermal power.

According to China's National Energy Administration, wind and solar power generation last year [2025] totaled 2.3 trillion kWh, accounting for about 22% of total power generation.

On the other hand, while the share of thermal power dropped from 68.5% in 2020 to 59.8% last year [2025], it still exceeded half of the total power generation.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.