In 2023, China led the world in solar power additions. Credit: foxbat/Shutterstock.

China has bolstered its solar power generating capacity, adding a total of 102.48GW of new solar installations between January and June 2024, according to data released by China’s National Energy Administration.

The 102.48GW of new solar installations represents year-on-year growth of 30.68%.

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The second quarter (Q2) of the year saw a notable increase, with an average of more than 17GW of new installations per month.

However, Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the China PV Industry Association, said he predicts the total installed capacity in China in 2024 to be between 190GW and 220GW. Considering new installed capacity last year was 216.88GW, it seems he does not expect solar to grow rapidly for the rest of the year.

Furthermore, China’s solar export model has struggled this year due to a decline in industrial chain prices limiting profits. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, between January and June this year, the export value of China’s PV materials fell by 35.07% from 2023 to $18.98bn.

Despite such issues, China remains a world leader in the global solar market. Of the 371.7GW of global solar capacity added last year, China topped the charts, accounting for more than half of additions, while runner-up the US followed with only 24.1GW.

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China installed more solar power alone last year than the entire world commissioned the previous year. China’s cumulative solar capacity stood at 609.5GW as of 2023, followed by the US, Japan and India with 172.5GW, 91.6GW and 84.8GW, respectively.

Beyond solar, the country is also a leader in the wind energy market. Total solar and wind capacity reached 758GW in Q1 2024, according to the think tank Global Energy Monitor. Wind and solar combined now account for 37% of total power capacity in the country, an 8% increase from 2022.