The country installed 93 gigawatts of panels last month, according to data released by the National Energy Administration, four times more than in the same period in 2024. The previous record was 71 gigawatts in December. The May figure means China installed more solar capacity in a single month than any other country did in all of 2024, according to BloombergNEF data.
China's Unstoppable Solar Additions
Installed solar capacity added each month
The May record followed strong additions in April, and pushed year-to-date installations to 198 gigawatts. That’s more than 1 gigawatt installed everyday for the first five months of the year.
Solar installations in China typically surge in December, but the peak activity period was brought forward this year by a pair of new policies. One rule change that went into effect May 1 made it more difficult to connect rooftop panels to the grid, while another that started June 1 removed pricing protections that had all but guaranteed profit for solar projects.
Installations are likely to slow
from June, which is bad news for the country’s beleaguered solar manufacturers, many of whom have been suffering steep losses as overcapacity drives prices to record lows.
“Manufacturers are competing with each other for limited orders,” research firm Shanghai Metals Market said in a note last week. “Demand is expected to remain sluggish in July and a full-scale recovery still awaits the realization of a new balance between supply and demand.”
China also added 26 gigawatts of wind power and 4.6 gigawatts of thermal power in May, according to the NEA.
(Bloomberg, June 23, 2025)