In the Northwest Gobi Photovoltaic Base in September, a new batch of photovoltaic modules have just completed grid connection debugging. The total installed capacity of power generation in China officially reached 4.103 billion kilowatts at the end of August, and the structural changes in energy green transformation are clearly evident in the data.

The proportion of new energy installed capacity continues to rise

As of the end of August 2026, the cumulative installed capacity of power generation in China has increased by 11.1% year-on-year. Among them, the installed capacity of solar power generation reached 1.299 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%, and the installed capacity of wind power was 693 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. The scale of new energy installed capacity continues to expand rapidly, accounting for nearly 48.5% of all power generation installed capacity, becoming the core driving force behind the growth of the country's total installed capacity.

The latest grid connected data for September shows that the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in China exceeded 21 million kilowatts, and the proportion of distributed photovoltaic additions has further increased. Rooftop photovoltaic projects in eastern coastal industrial parks are centrally connected to the grid, and the distributed development model is continuing to penetrate into industrial scenarios. The newly installed capacity of offshore wind power exceeded 3.2 million kilowatts in September, and several million kilowatt offshore wind power bases along the southeast coast experienced a peak in grid connection.

Using hours to refract structural changes

The cumulative average utilization of power generation equipment nationwide from January to August was 1942 hours, a decrease of 163 hours compared to the same period last year. This change is not due to the contraction of electricity demand, but rather the rapid growth of new energy installed capacity, which has lowered the overall equipment utilization base. The utilization hours of thermal power have slightly decreased year-on-year, freeing up more grid connected space for wind and photovoltaic power. Keywords: energy installation, energy green transformation

In September, the trading volume of electricity in the national electricity market increased by 19% year-on-year, and the scale of green electricity trading continued to expand. The proportion of high energy consuming enterprises in the east directly purchasing new energy electricity has steadily increased. With the continuous enhancement of cross regional consumption capacity of the power grid, the efficiency of wind and solar resource allocation across the country is constantly optimized, and the rapid growth of installed capacity is gradually shifting from scale expansion to a new stage of high-quality consumption.Editor/Cheng Liting