Slightly superior to coal power, the sun has officially become China's largest "power source"

Abstract:

my country's total photovoltaic installed capacity ranks first in the world, far exceeding that of the United States, Germany, India and other countries, and also higher than the total installed photovoltaic capacity of all EU countries. Because of this, the sun has officially become the largest "power source" in our country! Data released by the National Energy Administration shows that

as of the end of July 2026, the country's installed photovoltaic power generation capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts, surpassing the installed capacity of coal power by a slight advantage of 0.01 billion kilowatts. It has historically become the largest power source in terms of installed capacity in my country, ending the long-term dominance of coal power at the top of the list

Among them, 704 million kilowatts of centralized photovoltaics and 580 million kilowatts of distributed photovoltaics. The proportion of distributed photovoltaics continues to rise, and rooftop photovoltaics have entered rural areas and industrial and commercial factories in large numbers.

From January to July this year, the country's photovoltaic power generation reached 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%. Photovoltaic power accounted for about 13% of the entire society's electricity consumption. Almost 1 kilowatt hour of every 8 kilowatt hours of electricity came from sunlight.

my country has the most complete photovoltaic industry chain in the world, accounting for 80% of the world's module production capacity. In the future construction of new power systems, photovoltaics will continue to expand, and coal power will transform into a regulated power source. Wind, solar, hydropower, and thermal power will cooperate with each other to ensure the stable operation of the power grid and help achieve the dual-carbon goal.

However, it needs to be noted that photovoltaics are affected by day and night, cloudy and sunny, and are intermittent power sources. They generate strong power during the day and have no output at night.

Coal power is still the power source with the highest power generation. It is responsible for the peak load regulation of the power grid and guaranteed supply, and will not be quickly replaced

In addition, in addition to generating electricity, photovoltaic panels also have great uses. For example, in northwest my country, the photovoltaic panels scattered all over the mountains and plains can effectively reduce surface wind speed and reduce water evaporation. Pasture can also be planted under the panels for breeding, thus turning uninhabited deserts into comprehensive industrial parks.