China has at least 80% of the global market share in solar manufacturing capacity, making Chinese exports an important dataset for tracking the clean energy transition. In the first half of 2023, exports of solar panels from China grew by 34%, with 114 GW shipped worldwide, compared to 85 GW in the same period last year.
In 2021, the value of China’s solar PV exports was over USD 30 billion, almost 7% of China’s trade surplus over the last five years. In addition, Chinese investments in Malaysia and Viet Nam also made these countries major exporters of PV products, accounting for around 10% and 5% respectively of their trade surpluses since 2017.
Solar modules, which are fully assembled solar panels, accounted for 90% ($23.8 bn) of China’s total solar exports by value in the first half of 2023. Over the last 12 months, China exported 111 GW of solar modules to Europe, the same amount as the total installed PV capacity of the United States.
China unleashed the full might of its solar energy industry last year. It installed more solar panels than the United States has in its history. It cut the wholesale price of panels it sells by nearly half. And its exports of fully assembled solar panels climbed 38 percent while its exports of key components almost doubled.
China currently produces around eight out of every ten solar panels, and the growth in Chinese exports has global implications for the scale-up of clean power. The data reveals that Europe accounted for 52.5% of the value of China’s solar exports in the first half of 2023.
Over the last 12 months, China exported 111 GW of solar modules to Europe, the same amount as the total installed PV capacity of the United States. With a total over the last 12 months of 19 GW, Brazil is the largest single destination for China’s solar module exports outside of Europe.