China Solar and Wind Installations Break More World Records

China is leading the world in new solar and wind installations and doing so at a record-shattering pace. 

In May 2025 alone, the country added 93 gigawatts of solar capacity, or nearly 100 solar panels per second, and 26 gigawatts of wind capacity, or about 5,300 wind turbines. This breaks down to about one turbine installed every 10 minutes, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, non-resident senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute who analyzed China’s recent renewable capacity increase.

As PV Magazine reported, added solar capacity for January to May 2025 reached nearly 198 gigawatts, a 388% increase compared to the same period in 2024, a year when China had set a renewable power installation record for the second consecutive year. During the same time period in 2025, the country also increased wind energy capacity by 46 gigawatts.

Last month also saw more investments in solar and wind over coal for the first time in China. By the end of May 2025, National Energy Administration (NEA) data revealed that China’s cumulative solar capacity had reached 1.08 terawatts, which equates to about half of total installed solar capacity worldwide.

According to Myllyvirta, the new solar and wind capacity added last month alone could generate the same amount of electricity as Poland; Sweden; Norway; the United Arab Emirates (UAE); North Carolina and Maryland (combined); or Washington state and Wyoming (combined).

“We knew China’s rush to install solar and wind was going to be wild but WOW,” Myllyvirta shared on Bluesky.

We knew China's rush to install solar and wind was going to be wild but WOW😮. The solar panels & wind turbines China installed in May alone, in a single month, will generarate as much electricity as: -Poland -Sweden -Norway -the UAE -North Carolina&Maryland or -Washington&Wyoming

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— Lauri Myllyvirta (@laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 1:47 AM

“These wild installation numbers are made possible by rapid growth of the sector in the past few years and by strong profitability, compounded by a rush to install before a June deadline when the tariffs paid to new renewable power plants change,” Myllyvirta added in another post on Bluesky.

While China has broken records already this year for new renewable energy capacity, experts expect this growth to slow for the rest of the year. PV Magazine reported more cautious clean energy forecasts for the remainder of 2025.

“This massive wave of capacity additions will inevitably be followed by a lull, but it still shows what is possible with the dramatically reduced costs and increased supply capacity of the solar industry in particular,” Myllyvirta wrote.

According to Myllyvirta, even if new installations slow down for the rest of 2025, clean energy generation will continue to increase with the rapid increase in capacity that has taken place already.

China currently emits more greenhouse gases than any other country, but in May 2025, the country saw a decline in carbon emissions for the first time, despite an increase in energy demand. With the record-breaking increase in renewable energy capacity, China could be reaching peak emissions. The country previously set a target to reach peak emissions by 2030.

Could this be the biggest climate story of the year? For the first time on record, China's emissions are falling due to clean energy growth, not slow power demand Full analysis + outlook by Lauri Myllyvirta: www.carbonbrief.org/… 1/7

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— Simon Evans (@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org) May 15, 2025 at 8:27 AM