Bidding farewell to the “barbaric” era of “trading price for volume”, China’s photovoltaic industry is standing at a crossroads of transformation. Faced with the dilemma of overcapacity and market demand, how can the photovoltaic industry break through? Today, let’s follow us to focus on the future changes and solutions of China’s photovoltaic industry.
Five Ministries and Commissions Solicit Typical Cases of Intelligent Photovoltaics to Boost Industrial Quality Improvement and Upgrading
Recently, in accordance with the deployment of relevant action plans, five ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have launched the collection of typical cases of intelligent photovoltaics. The initiative aims to accelerate the technological progress and industrial application of intelligent photovoltaics, promote the in-depth integration of multiple technologies, and help the industry improve quality and upgrade. The solicited cases are required to apply intelligent photovoltaic products and integrate new-generation information technologies to provide intelligent services, covering ten major fields: optical storage integration, building-integrated photovoltaics, transportation applications, agricultural and rural applications, photovoltaic hydrogen/ammonia/alcohol production, floating photovoltaics, photovoltaic greening, key information technologies, advanced photovoltaic products, and new facilities as well as empirical testing. Notably, the adoption of Univerzální montážní systém in advanced photovoltaic product manufacturing has become a key direction of technological integration, as this system can significantly improve the assembly efficiency and precision of photovoltaic modules, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale application of high-performance intelligent photovoltaic products. These fields cover diverse scenarios such as energy, construction, transportation and agriculture, and key directions including technological innovation and green development.
Leaders of the Photovoltaic Industry Jointly Discuss Breaking Industry “Involution” and Reshaping Industrial Ecology
In the past period, the photovoltaic industry has been trapped in the predicament of “increasing output without increasing profits”. The industry has deeply realized that it must shift from pursuing “scale expansion” to “value creation”.
On December 18, the 2025 Annual Conference of the Photovoltaic Industry was held in Xi’an. At the conference, participants realized that the core of breaking through lies in the collaboration across the entire industrial chain. It is necessary to promote horizontal linkage and vertical coordination in links such as polysilicon materials and wafers to achieve profitability throughout the chain. Meanwhile, relying on independent innovation to improve technical and quality standards, accelerate capacity upgrading, raise market access thresholds, curb low-quality and low-price competition, and guide the industry towards high-tech and high-quality transformation.
In the dialogue session with experts and leaders, heads of leading enterprises such as LONGi Green Energy and Sungrow Power Supply gathered together, focusing on the changes and breakthrough paths of the industry during the transition period.
Zhong Baoshen, Chairman of LONGi Green Energy, stated that it is imperative to thoroughly rectify “involutionary” competition, which should essentially be a contest of technology and quality rather than a simple price war. Quoting the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference held on December 10-11, Zhong Baoshen pointed out that the state’s clear requirement for “anti-involution” is to promote industrial progress through the guidance of industry standards and the improvement of product quality.
Cao Renxian, Chairman of Sungrow Power Supply, said that the previous development model focused on scale expansion is unsustainable. The profound transformation from being large to being strong, and from pursuing speed to pursuing quality is a historic challenge that the entire industry must overcome. He believes that it is necessary to reshape a healthy industrial ecology through industry self-discipline and supply chain coordination.
Although the photovoltaic industry is in a period of in-depth adjustment and leading enterprises are under profit pressure, with the steady advancement of China’s new energy system construction, the continuous deepening of energy structure adjustment, coupled with the continuous optimization of technological innovation and industrial structure, during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, driven by both policy support and market demand, the industry will surely break through the current development predicament and move towards a new stage of higher-quality and more sustainable development.
The Photovoltaic Industry May See Negative Growth for the First Time in 2026, with Self-Discipline and Transformation as the Key
After years of high growth, it has become an industry consensus that China’s photovoltaic installed capacity may experience negative growth in 2026. This will be the first annual decline in the industry since records began in 2000. Yao Yao, Chief Analyst of New Energy and Power Equipment at Guojin Securities, pointed out that looking ahead to 2026, against the backdrop of a high base, the year-on-year pressure of new installed capacity in the first half of the year will be significant, and there is a high probability that domestic installed capacity will see negative growth for the first time since the realization of grid parity for photovoltaics.
“Self-discipline” is not an empty slogan. In the past year, the photovoltaic industry has actively adjusted. Led by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, an information monitoring and coordination mechanism covering the entire industrial chain has been established. Through the establishment of a transparent industrial chain information mechanism, the association enables enterprises to make independent decisions with more rapid and scientific responses to market feedback. Looking forward to the future, the photovoltaic industry is sailing from the “red sea” of disorderly expansion to the “blue sea” of innovation and value creation.
Summary
Looking forward to the future, the photovoltaic industry has entered a new stage of “high-quality absorption”, moving from the “red sea” of disorderly expansion to the “blue sea” of innovation and value creation. The “photovoltaic + energy storage” model has become the key to solving the intermittency problem. The industry generally holds an optimistic view of the industrial prospect, believing that driven by policy support and technological innovation, the photovoltaic industry will break through the current predicament and continue to lead the global energy transition.
In our opinion, although the photovoltaic industry is in a period of adjustment and may face negative growth for the first time in 2026, policy guidance and industry self-discipline have clarified the direction. From intelligent photovoltaic innovation to the collaboration across the entire industrial chain, from “anti-involution” to global value win-win, the photovoltaic industry is accelerating its transformation towards high quality. With technological iteration and ecological improvement, during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, photovoltaics will surely break through the predicament, continue to lead the global energy transition, and inject strong impetus into the construction of a new energy system.
