China has unveiled plans for what will be the world’s largest solar farm, spread across 610 square kilometers on the Tibetan plateau an area roughly the size of Chicago. The project once complete, will house more than 7 million solar panels and generate enough electricity to power five million households.
The farm represents China rapid push into renewable energy. In the first half of 2025 alone, the country added 212 gigawatts of solar capacity more than the entire installed capacity of the United States as of last year. Solar power has now overtaken hydropower in China and is on track to surpass wind as the nation’s top source of clean energy.
A study released this week shows China carbon emissions dipped by 1% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year extending a trend that began in March 2024. Analysts say this suggests emissions may have already peaked, well ahead of Beijing’s target of doing so before 2030.
“This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape,” said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. He added that the data shows a country can grow economically while cutting emissions.
Still, challenges remain. Much of China’s solar and wind capacity is concentrated in its sparsely populated western regions, while demand is highest in the east. To address this, the government is investing in massive transmission lines to move renewable power across the country. At the same time, experts warn that the electricity grid designed around steady coal-fired generation needs reform to handle the variability of solar and wind.
Despite these hurdles, the shift is seen as a turning point. If China can sustain a 3% annual decline in emissions the pace needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 the world largest emitter could significantly alter the global fight against climate change.