National energy data released on August 25 reveals a significant slowdown in the country's solar power expansion during the January-to-July period this year.

According to the latest electricity statistics from the National Energy Administration, total installed power generation capacity nationwide reached 4.08 billion kilowatts by the end of July, marking a year-on-year increase of 11.0%. Within this total, solar power capacity stood at 1.29 billion kilowatts, up 16.1% compared to the same period last year, while wind power capacity reached 690 million kilowatts, reflecting a growth rate of 19.5%.

Focusing on new installations, the country added 86.15 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity in the first seven months of 2025. This figure represents a substantial decline of 61.41% year-on-year. However, a closer look at the monthly data shows that July alone contributed 14.08 gigawatts of new solar capacity, which is actually a 27.54% increase compared to the same month in the previous year.

Additionally, the average utilization hours for power generation equipment across all sources during the January-to-July window totaled 1,671 hours. This marks a reduction of 135 hours when compared with the same timeframe last year, indicating a slight dip in the operational efficiency of the nation's power fleet over the period.