The growth of renewable energy is now unstoppable. In China – the world's most populous country alongside India, with over 1.4 billion inhabitants – for the first time the installed capacity of photovoltaic energy has surpassed that of coal.

1.286 billion kilowatts of installed capacity reached in China

The announcement was made by Beijing's authorities, who underlined that this constitutes a historic event: "At the end of July this year, China's installed solar capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts", stated the National Energy Administration in a press release. However, the figure only barely exceeds that of coal, the fossil fuel that is by far the most damaging to the climate – a sign that the momentum behind renewables must still be sustained.

The good news is not confined to Chinese territory alone: the Asian nation is in fact the country in the world responsible for the largest quantity of greenhouse gases in absolute terms (in per capita calculations, the United States tops the list despite having a population of only 340 million). The strong performance of photovoltaic solar could therefore help bring the world closer to the global warming limitation targets set by the international community.

Renewables surge in the United States too, despite Trump

What matters most, however, is the trend: the decline of fossil fuels now appears inexorable. Coal had in fact been, by a considerable margin, China's primary source of electricity generation for decades. By contrast, throughout 2025 the figure has been down 2 per cent, despite overall demand continuing to rise.

This is a dynamic being observed elsewhere in the world as well. In the United States, for instance, the attempts by Donald Trump's administration to revive the fossil fuel sector have not been enough to curb the momentum of renewable energy. Estimates for 2026, contained in a report by Standard & Poor's, indicate that installed solar and wind capacity is expected to increase by 45 gigawatts, reaching a record level for the North American nation.

Chinese photovoltaic output up 15.5 per cent from January to July

The press release from China's National Energy Administration does not specify the values for photovoltaic and coal in terms of energy production. It does indicate, however, that solar production grew by 15.5 per cent between January and July of this year, compared to the same period in 2025.