China’s photovoltaic capacity reached 1.286 terawatts in July, surpassing 1.285 terawatts of coal-generation capacity for the first time.

China’s installed photovoltaic generation capacity reached 1.286 terawatts at the end of July, according to National Energy Administration data. That total consisted of 704 gigawatts of centralized photovoltaic capacity and 582 gigawatts of distributed photovoltaic capacity.

Photovoltaic capacity exceeded coal-fired generation capacity, which stood at 1.285 terawatts, for the first time. Solar therefore became China’s largest power-source category when measured by installed generating capacity.

China Electricity Council secretary-general Hao Yingjie described the crossover as another milestone in the country’s energy transition. He linked it to coal-fired generation’s share of actual electricity output falling below 50% during the first half of the year.

The comparison concerns installed nameplate capacity, not electricity generated, dispatchability, utilization rates, or available output at a particular time. The source separately emphasized that coal power continues to provide a system-security backstop.