I. Global Installations Reach Another All-Time High

In 2024, global PV additions set new records across multiple statistical sources. According to SolarPower Europe, global solar installations reached 597 GW, a year-on-year increase of 33%, pushing cumulative capacity past the 2 TW mark by the end of the year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated global 2024 additions between 553 GW and 601 GW, with cumulative capacity exceeding 2,260 GW. BloombergNEF estimated global PV installations at 599 GW DC in 2024.

At least 34 countries added more than 1 GW of solar PV annually in 2024 – a marked expansion from 29 countries in 2023 – continuing the trend of deepening PV market globalization. Notably, the share of solar PV in the global electricity mix crossed the 10% threshold for the first time, signaling that solar energy has grown from a supplementary energy source into a major pillar of the global power system.

II. China: The Absolute Engine of the Global PV Market

China played an irreplaceable central role in global PV growth. According to official data from the National Energy Administration (NEA), China added 278 GW (278 GW) of new PV capacity in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 28%, accounting for about 65% of the country’s total new power installations. This comprised 159 GW of utility-scale PV and 118 GW of distributed PV. By the end of 2024, China’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached 886 GW, up 45% year-on-year, representing 26.4% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity. Annual PV generation was 834.1 TWh, up 44% year-on-year, accounting for about 8% of total society electricity consumption, with a utilization rate of 96.8%.

International agencies reported even larger figures for China. According to the IEA-PVPS national survey, China added 277.57 GW AC in 2024. Enerdata estimated 329 GW of additions, accounting for 55% of the global total, with cumulative grid-connected PV nearing 1,000 GW. China’s 2024 new installations exceeded the sum of the second through tenth largest countries combined. By the end of 2024, China’s PV capacity accounted for nearly half of the world’s total.

In terms of installation structure, utility-scale PV plants led with 159.39 GW of new additions (up 33% year-on-year), representing 57% of total new capacity. Distributed PV added a total of 118.18 GW, up 23% year-on-year. Within the distributed segment, commercial & industrial (C&I) distributed PV exhibited strong growth momentum – adding 88.63 GW, a year-on-year increase of 68%, accounting for 32% of total new capacity. Residential PV added 29.55 GW – down 32% year-on-year – accounting for 11% of total new capacity. This data clearly shows that residential PV is encountering growth bottlenecks, while C&I distributed PV – with higher generation efficiency and more stable returns – is becoming the new center of gravity in the distributed market.

By region, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Jiangsu each added more than 20 GW of new PV capacity in 2024, together accounting for one-third of the national total – the “three horses” driving annual growth. Nine other provinces – Shandong, Hebei, Yunnan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Anhui, and Hubei – also exceeded 10 GW of new capacity, demonstrating the broad deployment of PV projects across the country.

III. Desert/Gobi/Barren Land Bases: The “Ballast Stone” of PV Installations

As the most important component of building a “new power system centered on new energy”, the large-scale wind and solar base projects focused on deserts, gobi areas, and barren land have become the core growth driver for new PV installations. By the end of 2024, the first batch of 50 such bases had been essentially completed and connected to the grid, with a total capacity exceeding 90 GW, of which desert/gobi/barren land portions totaled about 42.83 GW. The second and third batches of large-scale bases are also being accelerated.

The Ruoqiang 4 GW PV project was the most notable single project of 2024. Located on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in southern Xinjiang, spanning approximately 76 square kilometers, it was successfully connected to the grid at the end of 2024, making it the world’s largest single-capacity desert/gobi solar project. After commissioning, the project is expected to generate 6.9 TWh of electricity annually, and can provide 500 MW of reliable power support to the Sichuan-Chongqing region during evening peak hours. In Inner Mongolia, the Tengger New Energy Base has a total planned capacity of 12 GW, including 8 GW of solar PV. The Kubuqi Desert base has a total planned capacity of 16 GW, including 8 GW of solar PV; after completion, it will deliver about 44 TWh of electricity annually to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, making it the world’s largest desert/gobi wind-solar base. The Gansu Tengger Desert Hexi Corridor base has a total scale of 15.2 GW, including 7 GW of solar PV, with construction progressing steadily.

Another notable feature of desert/gobi/barren land base construction is the widespread adoption of the “PV + ecological restoration” model. The Kubuqi base, for example, not only outputs green power but has also pioneered an ecological restoration path – using PV panels to reduce water evaporation and locally improve microclimates – achieving both power generation and desert control benefits.

IV. Production Soars as Prices and Profits Plunge

In 2024, China’s PV manufacturing sector maintained its overwhelming global advantage. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China produced over 1.82 million tons of polysilicon, up 23.6% year-on-year; 753 GW of wafers, up 12.7% year-on-year (with exports of about 60.9 GW); 654 GW of cells, up 10.6% (exports ~57.5 GW); and continued double-digit growth in module production. Total industry output value remained above the trillion RMB level.

However, rapid capacity expansion collided with relatively slower demand growth. Polysilicon capacity approached 3 million tons in 2024, and module capacity exceeded 1,000 GW – far higher than actual global installation demand of around 430–470 GW. This supply-demand imbalance directly caused a sharp drop in PV product prices: polysilicon prices fell from RMB 70,000/ton at the start of 2024 to RMB 39,000–44,000/ton by year-end; module prices dropped more than 60% from their peak; and prices across the entire supply chain fell below cost levels.

The PV industry experienced its most profit-challenged year on record. Among nearly 70 A-share listed PV companies, 43 forecast net losses, with total losses exceeding RMB 59.265 billion. Widespread losses across the industry became an indisputable reality. Full-year total revenue in the PV sector was approximately RMB 1.0143 trillion, down 21% year-on-year, with aggregate net profit of negative RMB 20.8 billion. Despite such difficult profit conditions, some leading companies maintained positive profitability through technological advantages and precise market strategies. Sungrow led with a net profit of RMB 4.959 billion, earning the title of “profit king”. JinkoSolar led global module shipments, with its TOPCon mass production technology helping its overseas market recovery. Canadian Solar maintained a solid position driven by its energy storage business and overseas asset operations, with a net profit of RMB 1.239 billion – one of the few module manufacturers to remain profitable.

V. Accelerated Technology Iteration and a Cluster of Efficiency Records

2024 marked a milestone year for technological innovation in China’s PV industry. N-type TOPCon technology achieved a decisive breakthrough in mass production, becoming the dominant next-generation technology route. Even though TOPCon new capacity faced negative cash flow, the industry’s willingness to invest in and promote next-generation cell technologies actually became stronger – because advanced capacity is not only about current cost control but also about future market competitiveness. Huaneng Group’s 2024 PV module tender included 15 GW subdivided into N-type, HJT, and BC technologies, fully demonstrating market recognition of the value of high-efficiency new technologies.

At the laboratory level, PV cell efficiency records were broken in rapid succession. LONGi’s perovskite/silicon tandem cell achieved 34.6% efficiency, ranking among the world’s highest as certified by NREL. JinkoSolar achieved 33.24% conversion efficiency for a perovskite tandem cell based on N-type TOPCon, once again setting a world record for that technology route – the 26th time JinkoSolar has broken world records for PV product efficiency and power. As of March 2025, Chinese companies held 9 world records on the NREL PV cell efficiency chart – the most of any country.

On the policy front, on November 20, 2024, the MIIT officially released the “Photovoltaic Manufacturing Industry Standard Conditions (2024 Edition)”. It clearly spells out the policy direction of guiding PV companies to avoid purely capacity-expanding projects, strengthen technological innovation, and improve product quality. The new rules uniformly increase the minimum capital ratio for new or expanded PV manufacturing projects from 20% to 30%, while significantly raising the technical efficiency targets for PV cells and modules – helping to curb disorderly industry expansion and accelerate the phase-out of backward capacity.

VI. Policy Turning Point: From Subsidy-Driven to Market-Driven

2024 was a year of profound changes in the PV industry’s policy framework. At the institutional level, the “Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China”, effective January 1, 2025, legally establishes the direction of prioritizing the development of renewable energy – providing a solid legal foundation for the long-term development of solar PV and other new energy sources.

In sector management, the NEA issued the revised “Measures for the Development and Construction Management of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation”, which further defines distributed PV in terms of investor entity, construction site, grid connection voltage, capacity, and other aspects, and strengthens management requirements for filing, development and construction, grid access, and operation. According to the new regulations, distributed PV power generation projects will fully participate in electricity market transactions in accordance with relevant national regulations – “market entry” is now a done deal.

On industrial governance, the so-called “strictest industry standard rules in history” for PV manufacturing were implemented. The policy combination aims to restrain low-expansion capacity, force the exit of backward capacity, and increase support for technological innovation – steering the industry from price competition to technology competition. At the same time, the export rebate rate for PV products was reduced from 13% to 9%, sending a clear policy signal to optimize the industrial structure and reduce reliance on low-end exports.

In terms of electricity market mechanisms, the green certificate system expanded rapidly. In 2024, China issued 473.4 million green certificates nationwide – a 28-fold increase year-on-year – with 59,000 participating entities, continuing to expand the coverage of renewable energy market-based trading.

VII. Exports: Volume Up, Prices Down, Emerging Markets Rise

In 2024, China’s PV module exports continued to increase. According to PV InfoLink customs data, China exported 235.93 GW of PV modules in the full year, up 13% year-on-year. The number of units exported reached 820 million, up about 80% year-on-year. However, due to the sharp drop in supply chain prices, China’s total PV product export value fell from RMB 258.6 billion in 2023 to about RMB 184 billion in 2024 – the first year-on-year contraction after four consecutive years of export value above RMB 200 billion.

From a regional perspective, emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America became the main growth drivers. In India, China exported approximately 16.73 GW of modules to India in 2024 – accounting for nearly 25% of China’s total exports to the Asia-Pacific market. The Middle East showed particularly strong growth – Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Middle East, importing about 16.55 GW of Chinese modules in 2024, representing 58% of total Middle East imports. For Africa, China’s PV module exports to Africa increased by 43% year-on-year, with South Africa leading at 3.81 GW of imports. China’s PV module exports to 23 countries grew by more than US$10 million, and to 33 countries by more than 100% – significantly accelerating the diversification of export markets.

In contrast, European imports fell by 7% year-on-year – a clear signal that Europe’s position as the largest export market for Chinese PV modules is shifting. Factors behind this change include improved local manufacturing capacity in Europe, trade policy adjustments, and increased market saturation. Meanwhile, localized supply shares in major markets such as the US and India have increased significantly – profoundly reshaping the global PV trade landscape.