China helped solar power hit record expansion levels by adding more than the rest of the world combined in 2025

Solar power enjoyed its biggest year ever in 2025, and one country was responsible for more than half of that growth – China.

The country added an astonishing amount of new solar generation capacity last year, eclipsing every other region on the planet.

The country’s contribution was so large that it actually exceeded the combined additions made by the rest of the world.

The figures highlight just how dominant the nation has become in the global race toward renewable energy.

China made more solar power than the whole rest of the world in 2025

According to tech data visualized by Visual Capitalist using Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026, China added 336 terawatt-hours (TWh) of new solar generation in 2025.

For comparison, the rest of the world combined added 300 TWh over the same period.

That meant China alone accounted for 53 percent of all global solar growth during the year.

The milestone helped push global solar generation to record levels and was another huge step forward for renewable energy worldwide.

China’s solar boom is part of a wider clean energy strategy that has seen the country become the world’s largest installer of solar panels and one of the biggest investors in renewable infrastructure.

In fact, the country has already surpassed one terawatt of installed solar capacity, becoming the first nation to reach that landmark, and the nation is taking strides in other forms of renewable energy, too.

China’s solar surge helped renewables overtake coal

The huge increase in solar output wasn’t just significant for China.

Globally, solar power supplied around 75 percent of the growth in electricity demand during 2025, according to Ember’s report.

The expansion of solar, alongside other renewable technologies, helped clean electricity sources meet all growth in global power demand and contributed to a historic shift in the energy mix.

For the first time in around a century, renewable energy overtook coal in the global electricity mix, highlighting how rapidly the energy landscape is changing.

China’s influence goes beyond installation numbers too.

The country dominates much of the global solar manufacturing supply chain, producing the majority of the world’s solar components and helping drive costs down around the globe.

As countries continue investing in cleaner forms of energy, it seems that China’s role in the future of solar power is enormous.