China's Solar Boom Hits A Wall As Industry Losses Mount

Oil Price ^ | 08/28/2026 | Irina Slav

[SeekAndFind]

Three of China's top solar market players reported deepening losses over the first half of the year, reflecting weakening demand for solar in the world's top manufacturer and generator.

Jinko Solar, JA Solar Technology, and Tongwei all reported six-month losses as overcapacity in the sector meets weakening demand, not only at home but also abroad, Bloomberg reported, citing statements made by the companies at their financial results releases.

The report noted new solar power capacity additions in China had shrunk to 72.07 GW over the first half of the year, compared with 212.2 GW a year earlier. Part of the decline was due to the rush to connect projects before China's June 1, 2025 electricity-pricing reform, which caused an extraordinary 2025 base.

"The full impact of policies requires a longer period for transmission and validation," JA Solar said, as quoted by Bloomberg. "In the short term, the actual effects of capacity reduction and consolidation have not yet fully emerged, and the industry as a whole still faces temporary and structural overcapacity issues."

Meanwhile, the U.S. tariff war on major trade partners affected demand for Chinese solar equipment abroad as well, adding to the pain for the industry leaders. Some of that pain was created by the government in Beijing, which canceled an export tax rebate for solar manufacturers in April.

"Trade barriers in overseas markets have been comprehensively upgraded, and traditional export channels are facing a reshaping," Jinko Solar said.

China's solar equipment exports declined by 21.4% last month from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data, demonstrating the effect of local and foreign legislative changes.

Meanwhile, total solar power capacity in China is set to overtake the country's coal capacity, despite the slowdown in new additions.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: china; energy; solar

[Jonty30]

The main reason that solar is losing is because we are treating it as a universal panacea, instead of being honest where it can be used profitability and where it can’t.

[frank ballenger]

I found it interesting there is at least one company regularly advertising on the radio to aid people in getting released from solar contracts that cheated them out of money with false promises.

Examples:
Stonegate Firm, Solar Exit Partners, VOID MY SOLAR, and Solar Exit Pros.

Sounds similar to the timeshare exit industry.

[Adder]

As with most things in China, I think they deliberately over produce to look good short term. Solar panels, bikes and even apartment buildings that are like Potemkin villages, among others.

[BobL]

Solar actually makes some sense for China, given the horrible (but somewhat improving) quality of their air. The way they look at it, every kilowatt-hour of coal generation that China can replace with solar is a good thing, given the (local) pollution that coal causes.

But there is a limit as the people running China, unlike today’s Democrats, have no interest in destroying their economy. So they use solar and wind to SUPPLEMENT their real powerplants, allowing them to throttle-down when conditions warrant, but they will NEVER, EVER, intentionally, run out of power. This differentiates them GREATLY from the US Democrats as China is always building enough real powerplants to meet all power demand, but their goal is to minimize their duty cycle, to the extent practical.

As to Global Warming...that’s a joke to China, but they do want to appear to play ball for Kindergarten Teacher in Germany, who somehow became their Energy Minister (for example), so that Europeans and the Democrats here destroy their economies and hence their ability to interfere in whatever China plans to do.

[Does so]

China uses coal for its REAL power source.

(Shipped from Australia)...

[central_va]

A one-sided US tariff war. No bias there.

[central_va]

China is a dirty ant hill of semi slave humanity. It’s a gross characterization of a free society. The whole thing is a contrivance.

[BobL]

“China is a dirty ant hill of semi slave humanity. It’s a gross characterization of a free society. The whole thing is a contrivance.”

All true, but they STILL cannot hold a candle to the Democrats here.

[Vaduz]

True they over produced so many electric cars many ended up in the junk yard from dealers.

[bert]

Tesla has developed solar panels that are being created at a fantastic rate. The panels are provided to robotic systems that fabricate tremendous arrays.

The solar panel arrays are connected to the vast energy collectors that collect and store the solar produced electricity. The electricity thus produced is used to power the Tesla factory..

Now, not tomorrow

[Paul R.]

Spot on.

There’s a guy on You Tube, Paul Warburg, who I sometimes disagree with, but, he’s just come out with a pretty good analysis (link below) of the problems the Chinese have caused themselves by massively subsidizing policies and developments past the point of being economically practical. Remember those cities devoid of people?

Solar is interesting for them because it does greatly involve a national security aspect: China does not have the energy resources otherwise, to support itself, particularly when it comes to oil and gas. So, they have pushed EV’s and solar hard, to diversify, disperse, and not be so dependent on outside sources of energy. They have partially succeeded, but still are extremely aggressive in, for example, the South China Sea. This creates a chicken and egg paradox: The most likely reason the Chinese would get their access to external energy sources shut down is a war they initiate by grabbing for external energy resources!

In the meantime, by jumping from one heavily subsidized direction to another, they have racked up a debt problem that makes the US’ debt problem look like a piker: Total up China’s debt, national, state enterprise, local, etc., and it is 2-1/2 times greater a percentage of their GDP than the comparable figure for the USA.

https://youtu.be/1wqH4mqj71w?t=1549

Worse yet, China has a demographics problem notably worse than that of the USA. Can they beat it with robotics? We shall see... Then throw in China’s endemic corruption just for grins.

These are major reasons BRICS is not going to get the world to dump the dollar anytime soon: It’s largest member is China, and the rest have big time debt too, except for Russia, which seems hell-bent on destroying itself economically. Putin should have read up on the law(s) and history of unintended consequences...

Meanwhile, Trump, despite various flaws, is in the process of, essentially, securing with relatively minimal fuss the largest oil reserves on the planet.

[Paul R.]

Yes, however, Tesla receives a lot of our tax $$ (or debt, take your pick) in the form of subsidies, etc.

TANSTAAFL

[cp124]

Slip and fall lawyers upcoming Super Fund sites to get rich on.

[bert]

Can you be more explicit?

What does Tesla receive?

[allendale]

Nice summary. The avid embrace of economically deliterious “clean energy” is a major cog in the cultural and national suicide pact of the Democatic Party. If the American nation is to survive, American voters must come to realize that any vote for any Democrat, anywhere, anytime is a vote to destroy the American nation.

[Sequoyah101]

Tesla needs subsidies? Oh, please tell me it isn’t so.

[rdcbn1]

Solar energy makes some sense in China. Solar cells are a great solution for power generation in isolated areas with no access to the power grid.

China is a huge country and it's power distribution system is still developing in many remote areas so solar is a great option in these cases.

Solar is a horrible solution for commercial grade power generation

[lurk]

It’s a limited market; the sun don’t shine economically and consistently all over the erf.

And, quality Chinese parts have a lifespan.