China's Renewable Energy Boom: Clean Power Capacity Surpasses Fossil Fuels for the First Time in History
- Green Fuel Journal
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
For the first time ever, China's installed clean energy capacity now exceeds its fossil fuel capacity. But experts say this is an "addition," not yet a "transition" — as coal construction runs at its fastest pace in a decade.
Published: February 19, 2026 | Source Article: Reuters, February 13, 2026 | News Analysis by: Research Team, GreenFuelJournal.com
Original News Link: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-epic-renewables-boom-lifts-it-into-rare-clean-capacity-club-2026-02-13/
Key Data at a Glance
China holds 1,494 GW of clean power capacity vs 1,420 GW of fossil fuel capacity — a 73 GW clean lead (Global Energy Monitor, 2026)
52% of China's total operating power capacity now comes from non-fossil sources
Solar capacity reached 1,200 GW in 2025 — up 35% in a single year (National Energy Administration, China)
Wind capacity hit 640 GW — up 23% year-on-year
China commissioned 78 GW of new coal power in 2025 — the highest annual total in 10 years
Clean energy sectors contributed the equivalent of $2.1 trillion to China's economy in 2025 (Carbon Brief)
The Milestone: What Happened and Why It Matters
In a development that would have seemed unlikely just a decade ago, China crossed a defining threshold in 2025: the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases now operates more power capacity from clean sources than from fossil fuels.
According to data from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), China had 1,494 gigawatts (GW) of clean power capacity — including solar, wind, nuclear, and hydropower — in operation last year, compared to 1,420 GW of coal, gas, and other fossil fuel capacity.
That gap of 73 GW pushed clean energy's share of China's operational power fleet to 51–52%, making China one of the very few major economies in the world where clean sources form the majority of the installed power base. It now joins the company of Brazil, France, and Germany — nations long considered global benchmarks for clean energy policy.
For a country that generates more electricity than the next three largest producers combined, this is not a minor footnote. It signals a structural reconfiguration of the world's largest energy system.
A Solar-Powered Overhaul: Ten Years That Changed Everything
The heart of China's energy transformation is solar. Utility-scale solar capacity in China surged by 1,554% between 2015 and 2025, according to GEM.
In 2015, solar made up just 2.4% of China's operational capacity. By end-2025, that figure had risen to 18.3%. Solar farms alone now represent the fastest-growing segment of China's power infrastructure — and by all projections, solar capacity is set to overtake coal as China's single largest power source in 2026.
China's National Energy Administration (NEA) confirmed that installed solar capacity reached 1,200 GW by December 31, 2025 — a 35% jump in a single calendar year. Wind capacity added a further 640 GW to the grid, up 23% from 2024. Together, wind and solar installed capacity totalled 1,840 GW by year-end, accounting for just over 47% of China's entire power fleet.
As recently as Q1 2025, wind and solar surpassed thermal (coal and gas) capacity for the first time, according to NEA data — and the gap has widened every month since.
"Solar power produced in China in 2025 alone will already account for about half of the annual electricity generation of all nuclear power plants operating worldwide." — Dr. Norbert Allnoch, Internationales Wirtschaftsforum Regenerative Energien (IWR)
China also achieved its own 2030 climate target — 1,200 GW of combined wind and solar — six full years ahead of schedule.
That goal was publicly stated by President Xi Jinping in 2020. The fact that it was met in 2024–2025 reflects both the scale of state-backed investment and the dramatic cost collapse of photovoltaic technology, where China has helped reduce global solar project costs by 80% over the past decade, per NEA figures.
The Pipeline: Even More Clean Power Is Coming
What has already been built tells only part of the story. Looking at what is currently under construction or in development paints an even more decisive picture. According to Global Energy Monitor, China has 674 GW of non-fossil power capacity under construction, compared to just 237 GW of fossil fuel capacity in the same phase.
Within the non-fossil pipeline, China's 234 GW of utility-scale solar capacity currently under construction is larger than the rest of the world's entire under-construction solar pipeline combined.
The China Electricity Council (CEC) projects that non-fossil sources could account for 63% of total power capacity by end-2026, with coal's share falling to 31%. Under China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), annual renewable additions of 200–300 GW are expected — which would make the current pace not a peak, but a foundation.
Did You Know?
China's solar and wind capacity now accounts for 44% of the world's total operating utility-scale solar and wind capacity — more than the combined total of the European Union, United States, and India put together.
(Source: Global Energy Monitor, July 2025)
The Contradiction: Coal Is Still Being Built at Record Pace
The milestone comes with a critical caveat that analysts and policymakers cannot afford to overlook. In 2025, China commissioned 78 GW of new coal power capacity — the highest single-year total in a decade, according to a joint report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor.
As of January 2026, China's operating coal fleet stood at 1,243 GW, with an additional 501 GW in various stages of development.
This creates a paradox that experts at institutions from Harvard to Beijing have been grappling with. "We see addition, not transition," said Professor Yasheng Huang of the MIT Sloan School, speaking at a Harvard Kennedy School panel on February 13, 2026.
"China is building alternative sources of energy as well as fossil energy sources, simultaneously." Despite leading the world in clean capacity installed,
China still generates approximately 60% of its actual electricity from coal — capacity and generation are two fundamentally different metrics. Coal remains the backbone of baseload supply, particularly during peak demand periods, droughts that reduce hydropower output, and times of grid instability.
China currently holds 71% of total global coal power capacity under development. While some of this will never be built, the volume under active construction or in permitting stages reflects a parallel and contradictory energy strategy — one driven by energy security concerns, grid stability needs, and strong provincial economic interests tied to the coal industry.
The US–China Divergence: Two Visions of the Energy Future
The global significance of China's clean energy milestone becomes sharper when set against the current policy direction in the United States.
As the Trump administration has rolled back federal support for renewables and explicitly backed expanded natural gas and coal power generation, the divergence between the world's two largest economies has become stark.
China is building toward a cleaner grid; the US, under its current administration, is moving in the opposite direction.
This divergence has trade and geopolitical dimensions as well.
China's EV exports reached 2.6 million units in 2025 — shipped to 150 countries — generating a record $69.6 billion in export revenue (Reuters).
Chinese solar panel and clean energy equipment exports also hit record highs. Clean energy is no longer just a domestic policy story; it is a cornerstone of China's global industrial and diplomatic strategy, embedded in bilateral agreements with Canada, the United Kingdom, and dozens of developing nations.
What This Means: An Expert Reading of the Numbers
For investors, policymakers, and sustainability officers, the key takeaway from this milestone is nuanced.
China's installed capacity data is real and significant. The scale of its renewable buildout is unmatched in human industrial history. Its domestic supply chain for panels, batteries, and turbines gives it a manufacturing advantage that no other country can replicate in the near term.
However, capacity is not generation. Installed megawatts sitting on rooftops or in wind farms do not automatically displace burning coal. Until China's grid infrastructure, storage systems, and dispatch rules fully integrate intermittent renewables into baseload supply, coal will remain operationally dominant.
Coal power generation in China actually fell by 1.6% in 2025 (Carbon Brief), and clean energy met all net growth in electricity demand last year — both genuinely encouraging signs. But a 1.6% decline is a long way from the structural phase-out the climate math requires.
Clean energy contributed the equivalent of $2.1 trillion to China's economy in 2025, making it one of the most significant industrial sectors in the country. That economic weight is itself a powerful driver — it gives Beijing a strong incentive to keep investment flowing, even as overcapacity in solar manufacturing, pricing reforms, and slowing export growth create headwinds for 2026 and beyond.
Conclusion: Historic — But the Story Is Not Over
China's crossing of the clean capacity threshold is a genuine, data-verified milestone in global energy history. No country of this economic and industrial scale has moved this fast from fossil fuel dominance toward clean capacity majority. The numbers from the National Energy Administration, Global Energy Monitor, and the China Electricity Council all confirm it.
But the headline obscures a more complex reality. Coal is not retreating — it is being built at its fastest rate in years, maintained as a strategic buffer, and still generates the majority of China's actual electricity. The energy transition in China is better described as an energy expansion: a vast layering of clean capacity on top of a fossil fuel base that remains firmly in place. Whether and how quickly the clean layer begins to structurally displace the fossil layer will be the central energy story of the next decade — for China, and for the world.
Analysis by: Research Team, GreenFuelJournal.com | Original News Source: Reuters, Gavin Maguire (February 13, 2026) | This article is for informational and educational purposes. All data cited has been independently verified from the primary sources listed below.
References & Sources
Reuters / Hydrocarbon Processing — "China's epic renewables boom lifts it into rare clean capacity club" (Feb 13, 2026)
Global Energy Monitor (GEM) — Global Solar Power Tracker & Global Wind Power Tracker (2025–2026)
https://globalenergymonitor.org/report/global-wind-and-solar-2025-the-g7-gap/
National Energy Administration (NEA), China — China Wind & Solar Installed Capacity Data, December 2025
OilPrice.com — "China Hits Renewable Milestone, But Coal Isn't Going Anywhere" (Feb 2026)
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/China-Hits-Renewable-Milestone-But-Coal-Isnt-Going-Anywhere.html
Carbon Brief — China Briefing: Clean Energy's Share of Economy & Record Renewables (Feb 5, 2026)
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) & GEM — "When Coal Won't Step Aside: The Challenge of Scaling Clean Energy in China" (Feb 2025)
Harvard Gazette — "Yes, China Has Embraced Renewables — But Don't Call It a Transition" (Feb 13, 2026)
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) — "China and Climate: January 2026" (Feb 13, 2026)
Ember Energy — "Wind and Solar Generate Over a Quarter of China's Electricity" (2025)
Alcircle — "China's Solar Capacity Is Set to Surpass Coal in 2026" (Feb 2026)
https://www.alcircle.com/news/china-s-solar-capacity-is-set-to-surpass-coal-in-2026-117226
Disclaimer:
This article is produced for educational and informational purposes by the Research Team at GreenFuelJournal.com. All statistics and data points have been sourced from publicly available, authoritative third-party reports and databases. GreenFuelJournal.com does not hold any financial interest in the companies, projects, or technologies mentioned. Readers are advised to consult primary sources and qualified professionals before making investment or policy decisions. All data was accurate as of February 2026 at the time of publication.
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