The morning sun shines on a roof in Punjab Province, Pakistan, and villager Ali is wiping the newly installed photovoltaic panels. Just a few days ago, he received his electricity bill. Due to the reverse power supply of his rooftop photovoltaic, he not only did not pay this month, but also made a profit. The story of Alibaba is a microcosm of the energy revolution in Asia.

Photovoltaics leap to become the third largest power source in the region

The UK Climate and Energy Research Agency's Carbon Brief recently released an analysis report. Data shows that from April 2025 to April 2026, Asia's solar power generation reached 1727 terawatt hours, surpassing natural gas's 1711 terawatt hours for the first time and jumping to become the third largest power source in the region.

Since 2020, solar power generation in Asia has grown nearly fourfold, becoming the fastest-growing sector among all types of power sources. China, India, and Pakistan are the core engines of this round of growth, with distributed photovoltaics in South Asia showing explosive development.

The pace of natural gas expansion is slowing down

In contrast to the rapid development of photovoltaics, natural gas power generation has clearly stalled in Asia. Enbo data shows that from 2019 to 2024, the installed capacity of natural gas power generation in Asia increased by about 22%, but the power generation only increased by 6%.

After the conflict between Russia-Ukraine conflict, the global LNG price fluctuated violently, and the situation in the Middle East was tense, further amplifying the supply uncertainty. Meanwhile, factors such as tight gas turbine supply and hindered construction of receiving stations have also slowed down the progress of power plant construction in countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Economically, natural gas power generation is being squeezed by both coal-fired and renewable energy sources.

Chinese manufacturing supports the backbone of transformation

China is the most core driving force behind the global photovoltaic industry. The carbon brief points out that since 2020, about three-quarters of the increase in solar power generation in Asia has come from China. Keywords: New energy news and information, photovoltaic power generation

By 2026, China's cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaics will reach about 1.2 terawatts, ranking first in the world. On the manufacturing side, China has built the world's most complete industrial chain, covering every link from silicon materials and wafers to solar cells and components. In March 2026, China's exports of photovoltaic modules to Asia doubled year-on-year, reaching 39 gigawatts, providing strong support for regional energy transformation. Technological progress and the advantage of the entire industry chain have enabled China to take a leading position in both scale and resilience.Editor/Gao Xue