China’s PV capacity overtakes coal: What does the energy milestone mean for electrical steel demand?

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Key takeaways: China’s solar capacity has overtaken coal for the first time, increasing the need for transmission, grid and energy storage infrastructure. Demand for CRGO is expected to grow as ...

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Open an account to enjoy low commission trading today!","ogImage":"https://c1.itigergrowtha.com/portal5/static/media/og-logo.0a0bd8dc.png","ogUrl":"https://www.atigrcrest.com/news/2666564951"},"companyName":"Tiger Brokers"},"pageData":{"isMobile":false,"isTiger":false,"isTTM":true,"region":"HKG","license":"TBHK","edition":"fundamental"},"isCrawlerRequest":true,"__swrFallback__":{"@#url:\"https://stock-news.skytigris.cn/v3/news\",params:#id:\"2666564951\",edition:\"fundamental\",auth_exemption:1,,,undefined,":{"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/2666564951?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","thumbnail":"","is_english":true,"pubTime":"2026-09-10 12:00","share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","id":"2666564951","market":"us","top_or_hot":-1,"title":"China’s PV capacity overtakes coal: What does the energy milestone mean for electrical steel demand?","media":"Fastmarkets","content":"<div>\n<p>Key takeaways:\n\nChina’s solar capacity has overtaken coal for the first time, increasing the need for transmission, grid and energy storage infrastructure.\nDemand for CRGO is expected to grow as ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-pv-capacity-overtakes-coal-what-does-the-energy-milestone-mean-for-electrical-steel-demand/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"fastmarkets_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; 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overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nChina’s PV capacity overtakes coal: What does the energy milestone mean for electrical steel demand?\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-09-10 12:00 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-pv-capacity-overtakes-coal-what-does-the-energy-milestone-mean-for-electrical-steel-demand/><strong>Fastmarkets</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Key takeaways:\n\nChina’s solar capacity has overtaken coal for the first time, increasing the need for transmission, grid and energy storage infrastructure.\nDemand for CRGO is expected to grow as ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-pv-capacity-overtakes-coal-what-does-the-energy-milestone-mean-for-electrical-steel-demand/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"SOLR","symbol_name":"SmartETFs Sustainable Energy II ETF","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-pv-capacity-overtakes-coal-what-does-the-energy-milestone-mean-for-electrical-steel-demand/","article_id":"2666564951","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":{"source":"fastmarkets_highlight","url":"https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-pv-capacity-overtakes-coal-what-does-the-energy-milestone-mean-for-electrical-steel-demand/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2666564951","pubTimestamp":1789012800,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"fastmarkets_highlight","name":"Fastmarkets"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"China’s solar PV capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time by the end of July 2026, which was expected to support long-term demand for cold-rolled grain-oriented electrical steel (CRGO).","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"fastmarkets.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"SOLR":"SmartETFs Sustainable Energy II ETF","FRNW":"Fidelity Clean Energy ETF","CSM":"ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30","DVXB":"WEBs Defined Volatility XLB ETF","ACES":"ALPS Clean Energy ETF","SLX":"VanEck Steel ETF","CTEX":"ProShares S&P Kensho Cleantech ETF","NEA":"Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Inco"},"translate_title":"中国光伏产能超过煤炭： 能源里程碑对电工钢需求意味着什么？","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"ACES":0.66,"SLX":1.5,"FRNW":0.9,"CSM":1,"SOLR":0.75,"NEA":1,"DVXB":1.5,"CTEX":0.9},"content_text":"Key takeaways:\n\nChina’s solar capacity has overtaken coal for the first time, increasing the need for transmission, grid and energy storage infrastructure.\nDemand for CRGO is expected to grow as transformer investment rises, particularly for high-grade material used in UHV networks.\nSupply growth, falling prices and solar-sector consolidation could limit the upside for the CRGO market despite strong long-term demand.\n\nChina solar capacity surpasses coal-fired power generation\nAccording to China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), by the end of July 2026 the country’s installed solar photovoltaic (PV) power capacity had reached 1.286 billion kW, comprising 704 million kW of utility-scale PV and 582 million kW of distributed PV.\nFor the first time, installed solar capacity exceeded coal-fired power capacity, making solar China’s largest power source by installed capacity. Coal-fired capacity stood at 1.285 billion kW.\nThe milestone is widely viewed as a significant step in China’s energy transition. Although coal-fired power generation is expected to continue playing a stabilizing role in the country’s power system in the near term, market participants expect future energy investment to become increasingly concentrated in power grids, energy storage facilities and renewable-energy equipment.\nAs a result, many industry participants believe the shift will create new demand for CRGO, a key material used in transformers.\nTransmission and storage become the next challenge\nGrowth in installed PV capacity is no longer viewed as the primary challenge for China’s energy sector. Instead, the focus is shifting to how rising volumes of renewable electricity can be delivered efficiently to end users.\nChina’s PV installation landscape is characterized by large-scale solar farms in western regions, while distributed solar projects dominate capacity growth in central and eastern China.\nAccording to NEA data, the five provinces with the largest cumulative grid-connected photovoltaic capacity by the end of June 2026 were Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, Xinjiang and Zhejiang.\nAlthough energy-intensive industries and some new-energy manufacturing facilities are increasingly relocating to western China, electricity consumption remains concentrated in economically developed regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.\nBecause the regions with the largest PV generation capacity do not fully overlap with those exhibiting the highest electricity demand, China’s need for transmission and distribution infrastructure continues to increase.\nEnergy storage expansion boosts transformer demand\nAt the same time, the intermittent nature of solar power generation is driving greater investment in energy-storage systems.\nThe NEA has outlined plans to add approximately 160 GW of new energy storage capacity during the 2026-2030 period, with the country’s total installed energy storage capacity expected to reach 300 GW by 2030, underscoring growing investment in grid modernization and renewable energy integration.\nCRGO, which is widely used in transformers, therefore plays an important role in both grid expansion and the integration of energy-storage facilities.\nZhuo Chen, the expert with the China Iron & Steel Association estimated that China’s annual CRGO demand could increase to 4.37 million tonnes by 2030. According to the Chinese Society of Metals (CSM), the consumption of CRGO was 2.38 million tonnes in 2024.\nDemand for high-magnetic-induction (Hi-B) CRGO is expected to grow faster than that for conventional grades because of increasing deployment of ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission networks, market participants said.\nFor example, Hi-B CRGO grades with thicknesses of 0.23 mm and iron loss of no more than 0.85 W/kg are more commonly used in the production of transformers for UHV transmission networks.\nSupply concerns limit market optimism\nDespite the favorable long-term demand outlook, market participants remain cautious about CRGO market fundamentals due to concerns over capacity expansion and intensifying competition.\nAccording to CSM, China’s CRGO production totaled 2.95 million tonnes in 2024, and capacity stood at 3.26 million tonnes.\nAdditional CRGO projects are scheduled to come on stream during the next few years, potentially increasing total capacity to around 4.2-5 million tonnes by the end of 2027, according to industry analysts.\n“The increase in capacity is outpacing demand growth, which has placed considerable downward pressure on CRGO prices,” a trader in eastern China said.\nFalling CRGO prices reflect rising competition\nAnother trader based in central China said the benefits of PV-related investment are not being shared evenly across the downstream sector.\n“Some major transformer producers have sufficient order books, while many smaller manufacturers are struggling to maintain operating rates,” the trader said.\nFastmarkets’ fortnightly price assessment for electrical steel, cold-rolled grain-oriented, ex-whs Eastern China was $1,548-1,608 per tonne on September 4, down from $1,636-1,725 per tonne on August 21.\nFastmarkets assessed the grade with a thickness of 0.23 mm and iron loss of 0.85 W/kg.\n“Price competition is squeezing profit margins throughout the supply chain, which is not conducive to the healthy development of the CRGO industry,” the first trader added.\nIndustry analysts said some low-grade CRGO production capacity should eventually be phased out and warned that mills should remain cautious about adding new capacity, even in higher-grade segments.\nSolar-sector consolidation may temper demand growth\nWhile installed solar capacity continues to expand, some market participants believe the industry’s rapid growth phase may be slowing because of persistent oversupply and weak profitability.\nSolar companies that cannot generate adequate profits are either reducing generation from existing power plants or suspending or scaling back unprofitable new projects, market sources said.\n“If fewer new solar projects are developed in the future, growth in demand for transformers, transmission infrastructure and energy-storage systems may also moderate, limiting the pace of CRGO demand growth,” a market source said.\nNew solar regulations could reshape future investment\nChina will impose a 2% consumption tax on photovoltaic cells from April 1, 2027, with the rate increasing to 4% from April 1, 2028, ending a decade-long tax exemption for the sector.\nIn addition, three mandatory national standards covering energy-efficiency requirements for crystalline-silicon PV modules and inverters will take effect on January 1, 2027.\nIndustry participants expect the new tax policy and stricter efficiency requirements to accelerate the elimination of outdated and less-competitive production capacity. While this could improve the long-term health of the solar sector, it may also slow the pace of PV capacity additions, reducing the growth rate of demand for grid infrastructure, energy-storage systems and, consequently, CRGO products.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":false,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"isVideo":false,"video":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"need_login_tip":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"}}}