Image: Huichao Ji, Unsplash
China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has released the country’s electricity industry statistics for 2024, showing a significant jump in solar capacity.
By the end of 2024, China’s total installed PV capacity had reached 886.66 GW, an increase of 277.17 GW from 609.49 GW at the end of 2023. This represents an annual growth rate of 45.48%, setting a new historical record for the expansion of solar capacity.
The country added 216.88 GW of new PV capacity in 2023, an increase of 148.12% from 2022. In 2022, the country added 87.41 GW of solar power.
This performance exceeded most industry forecasts. In early 2024, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) had forecast an annual installation range of 190 GW to 220 GW, later revising its estimate to 230 GW to 260 GW in October. Similarly, analysts from research firms such as S&P and Wood Mackenzie initially forecast optimistic growth figures between 240 GW and 260 GW.
The increase in Chinese solar capacity installations is striking compared to recent years. Annual installations during the 2020-2022 pandemic were 48.2 GW, 54.88 GW and 87.41 GW, respectively. Post-pandemic, installations rose to 216.88 GW in 2023 and rose further to 277.17 GW in 2024, representing a 28% increase year-on-year.
Monthly data shows a rush to installation in December 2024, with an added capacity of 68.33 GW, mirroring the same pattern in December 2023. The increase is in line with the annual assessment cycle of state-owned energy companies.
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