China’s solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights, while offshore wind shows promise

This July 2025 briefing by Global Energy Monitor details China's leadership in utility-scale solar and wind energy, highlighting a 1.3 TW pipeline of prospective capacity and the rapid growth of its offshore wind sector, which now accounts for 50% of global capacity.

• China is developing a utility-scale solar and wind pipeline exceeding 1.3 TW, with 510 GW already under construction. This is in addition to 1.4 TW of capacity already in operation.
• China's prospective solar capacity exceeds 709 GW, representing more than one-third of the global total for 2025. Of this, 287 GW (over 40%) has broken ground, a rate roughly four times the global average of 9%.
• Prospective wind capacity in China is over 590 GW, comprising 530 GW onshore and 63 GW offshore. As of July 2025, 223 GW (37%) is under construction, which is nearly four times the combined under-construction capacity of the rest of the world.
• In the first quarter of 2025, China's wind and solar capacity surpassed its thermal capacity for the first time, providing nearly 23% of total electricity consumed, compared to 18% in Q1 2024.
• China has become a global leader in offshore wind, with capacity growing from under 5 GW in 2018 to 42.7 GW by March 2025, representing 50% of global capacity. In 2024, China's additions of 4.4 GW accounted for nearly 55% of all global offshore wind additions.
• Offshore wind development in China faces competition from continued fossil fuel expansion. In Guangdong province alone, 13.5 GW of gas and 23 GW of coal power are planned for commissioning by 2027.
• The offshore wind sector experienced a slowdown after the phaseout of national feed-in tariffs (FiTs) at the end of 2021. Installations dropped from a record 16.6 GW in 2021 to approximately 6.5 GW in 2022.
• China is advancing floating wind technology and high-capacity turbines. As of Q1 2025, nearly 40 MW is operational across five pilot projects, and the first phase (200 MW) of the 1,000 MW Hainan Wanning floating offshore wind farm is expected by the end of 2025.

APA

Global Energy Monitor (2025). China’s solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights, while offshore wind shows promise. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-China-wind-solar-brief-July-2025_7.pdf

Chicago

Global Energy Monitor. China’s solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights, while offshore wind shows promise. 2025. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-China-wind-solar-brief-July-2025_7.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Energy Monitor |title=China’s solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights, while offshore wind shows promise |date=July 2025 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-China-wind-solar-brief-July-2025_7.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalenergymonitor2025chinas, author = {{Global Energy Monitor}}, title = {{China’s solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights, while offshore wind shows promise}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-China-wind-solar-brief-July-2025_7.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }