China Produces 588 GW of Solar Panels in One Year, More Than Double Global Demand, Causing $60 Billion in Losses

Written by Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges

Published on 21/09/2025 at 15:08

China produz 588 GW de painéis solares em um ano e provoca prejuízo bilionário

17 people reacted to this.

Production Exceeds Double the Global Demand and Generates Losses of US$ 60 Billion in the Sector.

The China has consolidated its position as a global leader in solar energy, but this advancement has come alongside an unprecedented crisis. In 2024, the country produced 588 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels, more than double the global demand of 451 GW, according to data cited by Terra. This imbalance caused a sharp drop in prices and estimated losses of US$ 60 billion for the industry.

The situation transformed a sector considered strategic into an economic and social problem.

With factories operating at full speed and stocks overflowing, companies began selling below production costs, racing to reduce losses and free up space.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The Chinese Solar Energy Bubble

Between 2020 and 2023, the Chinese government redirected resources from the real estate sector to what it called “three new growth industries”: solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries.

The industrial policy accelerated investments and multiplied production capacity.

The result was an explosion of factories and equipment, leading the country to produce in just one year nearly 90% of the solar cells consumed worldwide.

This overwhelming dominance, however, ended up creating a surplus that the global market cannot absorb.

Prices Plummet and Record Losses

The immediate consequence of overproduction was the drastic devaluation of solar-grade polysilicon, the main input for panels. The price fell to around 50 yuan (R$ 37) per kilogram, a level that does not cover extraction and refining costs.

According to Terra, the pressure to sell below cost led companies to report accumulated losses exceeding US$ 60 billion.

Beijing admits that a shock plan will be necessary to rebalance the sector and avoid a wave of mass bankruptcies.

The collapse affected not only the numbers but also thousands of workers.

The five largest photovoltaic companies in the country reduced their workforce by 31%, which represents 87 thousand jobs cut silently.

These layoffs reflect the difficulty of sustaining a sector inflated by industrial policy and fierce internal competition.

Beijing now faces the dilemma of containing social impacts without giving up on an industry deemed vital for its global leadership in energy transition.

Beijing’s Dilemma: Restart or Decelerate?

The Chinese government is studying regulation mechanisms and forced mergers to reduce the number of players in the market and stabilize prices. At the same time, it seeks to preserve the country’s image as the main driver of clean energy worldwide.

This “restart” of the industry, according to analysts, could redefine the geopolitics of solar energy.

While Western competitors struggle to survive, China maintains technological and productive advantages, but risks paying a heavy price for moving too fast.

Do you believe that China will be able to reorganize this sector without losing global leadership? Or could the overproduction open space for Western competitors?

Leave your opinion in the comments, we want to hear from those who closely follow this market.

5 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

Built-in feedback

View all comments

Naldo ES(@naldomaisnaldo)

#177433

Active Member

23/09/2025 02:51

Azar de quem não consegue competir.

Respond

Alexandre Costa(@thunder_br)

#177361

Member

22/09/2025 20:21

Ô estagiário… Desde quando que 588 é mais que o dobro de 451??

Respond

Erich

#177122

22/09/2025 11:37

Muito pelo contrário o excesso de produção possivelmente prejudicará também os concorrentes externos

-2

Respond

China Produces 588 GW of Solar Panels in One Year, More Than Double Global Demand, Causing $60 Billion in Losses

Production Exceeds Double the Global Demand and Generates Losses of US$ 60 Billion in the Sector.

The Chinese Solar Energy Bubble

Prices Plummet and Record Losses

Beijing’s Dilemma: Restart or Decelerate?

A Chinese factory in Guangdong is assembling a humanoid robot every 30 minutes while Tesla, Figure, and Boston Dynamics still struggle to deliver 10 thousand per year.

In Niger, mud buildings have stood for ten generations while the world spends billions on concrete and steel, now African architects are proving at the Venice Biennale and in real projects that red earth can be the smartest and most sustainable building material of the 21st century.

Seven world powers including the US, China, and Russia are spending €22 billion on a reactor in the south of France that aims to confine plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times the temperature of the Sun’s core, using a magnetic field capable of lifting an entire aircraft carrier.

Secret chamber sealed 4,500 years ago found in the Pyramid of Khufu, and Hawass announces its opening to the world in 2026

With a wingspan of 152 meters, 76 tires, and a capacity to carry 1,270 tons, the Boeing Pelican was the giant “flying ship” that promised to cross oceans close to the water on an invisible air cushion beneath its wings.

A public school student single-handedly created a machine capable of treating water for up to 50 people using only solar energy. It was awarded third place at one of the most important science fairs in the world.

Germany installed vertical solar panels on a lake in Bavaria, and the result broke conventional logic: instead of producing energy at midday peak, the plant generates more early in the morning and in the evening, exactly when families turn on appliances and factories are in full swing.

Newly discovered asteroid with potential for urban destruction will pass at just a fraction of the distance to the Moon, leaving scientists alert to a possible warning.

While Brazilian bridges remain in the planning stages, Italy will begin construction in 2026 on the Strait of Messina Bridge, featuring a record span of 3,300 meters and towers of 399 meters.

Australia is building the world’s largest underwater energy highway with 4,300 km of submarine cables, a 12,000-hectare solar megafarm, and a billion-dollar system capable of sending clean electricity from the Australian desert to Singapore.

Man builds heated underground bunker in the middle of the forest using only earth, wood, and wood fire to create a camouflaged refuge.

Ship coming from Texas arrives at the Port of Aratu with more than 18,000 tons of ethane at negative 90 degrees and marks the debut of Brilliant Future in Bahia, strengthening Braskem’s international logistics to supply the Camaçari Industrial Complex.

China Produces 588 GW of Solar Panels in One Year, More Than Double Global Demand, Causing $60 Billion in Losses

Production Exceeds Double the Global Demand and Generates Losses of US$ 60 Billion in the Sector.

The Chinese Solar Energy Bubble

Prices Plummet and Record Losses

Social Impact: 87 Thousand Silent Layoffs

Beijing’s Dilemma: Restart or Decelerate?

A Chinese factory in Guangdong is assembling a humanoid robot every 30 minutes while Tesla, Figure, and Boston Dynamics still struggle to deliver 10 thousand per year.

In Niger, mud buildings have stood for ten generations while the world spends billions on concrete and steel, now African architects are proving at the Venice Biennale and in real projects that red earth can be the smartest and most sustainable building material of the 21st century.

Seven world powers including the US, China, and Russia are spending €22 billion on a reactor in the south of France that aims to confine plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times the temperature of the Sun’s core, using a magnetic field capable of lifting an entire aircraft carrier.

Secret chamber sealed 4,500 years ago found in the Pyramid of Khufu, and Hawass announces its opening to the world in 2026

With a wingspan of 152 meters, 76 tires, and a capacity to carry 1,270 tons, the Boeing Pelican was the giant “flying ship” that promised to cross oceans close to the water on an invisible air cushion beneath its wings.

A public school student single-handedly created a machine capable of treating water for up to 50 people using only solar energy. It was awarded third place at one of the most important science fairs in the world.

Germany installed vertical solar panels on a lake in Bavaria, and the result broke conventional logic: instead of producing energy at midday peak, the plant generates more early in the morning and in the evening, exactly when families turn on appliances and factories are in full swing.

Dongfang breaks world record and manufactures 26 MW wind turbine in China with 137-meter blades that spin so slowly they appear stationary on the horizon.

System that promises to store energy in hills, using a fluid denser than water, reaches full power in the UK and can transform former industrial areas into smaller hydroelectric batteries, quick to build and focused on clean energy.

As Europe tries to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, a plant in Spain begins producing renewable natural gas with green hydrogen and CO₂, injecting synthetic methane directly into the distribution network.

China installs the world’s largest floating wind turbine offshore with a 252-meter rotor and a swept area equivalent to 7 football fields.

While heat evaporates water from reservoirs and countries seek new areas for clean energy, Morocco is testing floating solar panels that function as an energy lid and also generate electricity.

Newly discovered asteroid with potential for urban destruction will pass at just a fraction of the distance to the Moon, leaving scientists alert to a possible warning.

While Brazilian bridges remain in the planning stages, Italy will begin construction in 2026 on the Strait of Messina Bridge, featuring a record span of 3,300 meters and towers of 399 meters.

Australia is building the world’s largest underwater energy highway with 4,300 km of submarine cables, a 12,000-hectare solar megafarm, and a billion-dollar system capable of sending clean electricity from the Australian desert to Singapore.

Man builds heated underground bunker in the middle of the forest using only earth, wood, and wood fire to create a camouflaged refuge.

Ship coming from Texas arrives at the Port of Aratu with more than 18,000 tons of ethane at negative 90 degrees and marks the debut of Brilliant Future in Bahia, strengthening Braskem’s international logistics to supply the Camaçari Industrial Complex.