The Chinese are slowing down with photovoltaics. The government is lifting price protection.

China added 14 GW of solar capacity last month, down 85% from a record 93 GW in May, according to National Energy Administration data cited by Bloomberg. This means that in a single month, China installed more solar capacity than any other country in 2024.

New legislation undercuts PV producers' profitability

China's installations typically surge in December, but the peak activity period was accelerated this year by two new regulations . One rule change, which took effect on May 1, made it more difficult to connect rooftop panels to the grid, and another, which took effect on June 1, removed price protections that virtually guaranteed profits for wind and solar projects .

A more challenging second half of the year is coming for Chinese PV

The sharp decline, which the market had widely expected, also heralds a more challenging second half of the year for Chinese solar producers as demand was boosted at the start of the year.

Leading Chinese companies such as LONGi Green Energy Technology and Tongwei also warned of further net losses in the first half of the year as a rush to add new units failed to translate into revenue growth and selling prices remained below costs .

Wind power capacity also fell to 5 gigawatts in June, from 26 gigawatts the previous month. Thermal power capacity increased slightly to 8 gigawatts.