The Chonkerton

China’s solar industry is losing money. The country is doubling down anyway.

business

China's solar manufacturers are in a bind. Per Grist, the country's solar industry announced one point five billion dollars in losses in the first quarter of twenty twenty-six, extending a streak of roughly three years of continuous unprofitability. The problem is oversupply. Chinese factories have built far more production capacity than the world can absorb; the country now has enough manufacturing to meet roughly twice global demand. That's sparked vicious price wars between manufacturers and sent prices plummeting—a self-defeating cycle Chinese officials have named "involution." But here's the paradox: Grist reports that China is not pulling back. Instead, the government is doubling down, signaling it will keep supporting the solar industry and upgrading it to produce more advanced technologies. From a global perspective, the oversupply has been a gift. Cheap Chinese solar panels have fueled a clean-energy boom; solar provided more electricity than coal in the United States for the first time in May, and last year, clean power sources met all new electricity demand worldwide. According to Grist's reporting, experts believe low solar panel prices will persist for years—potentially sustaining the decarbonization surge, as long as geopolitical tensions don't destabilize the arrangement.

Source: https://grist.org/energy/chinas-solar-industry-is-losing-...

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