Ningbo has achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first city in China to exceed 10 gigawatts (GW) of installed distributed photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The milestone was reached on August 12 at 10:00 AM when the 1,038-kilowatt rooftop solar project at Ningbo Science Middle School in Qianwan New Area was connected to the grid.

"Ten gigawatts is equivalent to installing nearly half of the Three Gorges Dam's capacity on Ningbo's rooftops," said Shen Yinxing, head of the Government Enterprise Service Team at the State Grid Ningbo Power Supply Company's Marketing Service Center. By the first half of 2026, solar power generation is expected to account for over 10% of Ningbo's total electricity consumption, meaning that "for every 10 kilowatt-hours of electricity used in Ningbo, 1 kilowatt-hour will come from sunlight."

From an environmental perspective, the distributed solar projects in Ningbo will generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 5 million tons. This is equivalent to planting 120 million trees.

As a major manufacturing hub, Ningbo has ranked first in Zhejiang Province for total electricity consumption for six consecutive years. Facing the dual pressures of rising electricity demand and the limitations of traditional energy sources like thermal and hydro power, the city has been comprehensively promoting the integration of distributed solar with industry, transportation, new infrastructure, and rural revitalization to accelerate emissions reduction and carbon cutting.

A spokesperson from the Ningbo Municipal Energy Bureau noted that industrial rooftops account for 84% of the city's installed distributed solar capacity, while residential rooftops make up about 8.6%. For example, at Junhe Pump Co., Ltd., three factory buildings hum with high-speed production lines while rows of solar panels cover their rooftops. Weng Chunlei, manager of the Junhe Engineering Center, calculated that the Fenghua district factory consumes about 15 million kilowatt-hours annually. The company's 3.5-megawatt distributed solar project, which cost over 14 million yuan to build, generates 3.9 million kilowatt-hours per year, with over 90% used on-site. "Based on the average industrial electricity price of 1 yuan per kilowatt-hour, we save more than 3 million yuan annually, meaning the investment will be recouped in 4.5 years," Weng said.

Data shows that Ningbo has built over 10,000 industrial distributed solar projects, including major installations at Volkswagen's Qianwan New Area facility (68 MW), Jintian Copper (40 MW), and Baoxin Stainless Steel (20 MW). The "self-consumption with surplus fed into the grid" model has become the primary method for these projects, helping to reduce costs for more than 20,000 industrial and commercial users across the city.

Distributed solar projects have also increased the "green content" of manufacturing enterprises. "By using green electricity to reduce emissions, we meet the low-carbon supply chain requirements of our overseas customers, continuously improving the competitiveness of our export orders," said Zhang Jinjie, project manager at Tuopu Group. The group's fourth PV power station has been operational for over a month. In 2025, Ningbo enterprises facilitated green electricity trading of 2.342 billion kilowatt-hours and purchased 13.7081 million green certificates.

Ma Tingling, director of the Development Strategy and Planning Institute at the Ningbo Academy of Development and Planning, believes that Ningbo's achievement of surpassing 10 GW in distributed solar capacity first in the country not only demonstrates the effectiveness of the city's local practices in pursuing low-carbon transformation under the "dual carbon" goals but also provides a green solution for Ningbo as it works to create a national model for new industrialization.

Where to start

For investors or residents looking to understand Ningbo's progress, the city's success is built on integrating solar with its industrial base. The high proportion of industrial rooftop installations, at 84%, highlights the strategic focus on leveraging existing infrastructure for renewable energy generation, making it a model for other manufacturing-heavy cities.

Why just 10 GW of distributed solar?

The 10 GW milestone is significant because it represents a tangible step toward a low-carbon economy. For Ningbo, a city with high electricity consumption, this distributed capacity reduces reliance on traditional energy, cuts costs for businesses, and enhances environmental sustainability. It also positions the city as a leader in the national green transition, offering a blueprint for other regions to follow.