China’s Rooftop Solar Boom Offers Lessons for Canada

China’s household rooftop solar capacity reached 205 gigawatts by the end of 2025, offering Canada lessons in reducing installation costs while exposing the grid constraints that can slow deployment, says energy researcher Anders Hove.

Hove, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Energi Media that household installations grew from negligible levels before 2020 to about 17 per cent of China’s total solar capacity.

He cautioned against confusing household rooftops with the broader distributed solar category, which accounts for roughly half of installed solar capacity. Distributed projects also include commercial and industrial installations, including ground installations near consumers.

Bundling Rooftops Reduces Costs

China’s Whole County solar programme, launched in 2021, aimed to reduce the expense of recruiting customers individually while supporting incomes in rural communities.

“Procuring them one by one tends to add a lot of costs,” Hove said.

Marketing and customer contact remain expenses even in a country known for inexpensive equipment. Bringing rooftops together creates an opportunity to organise installations at scale.

For Canada, Hove identified bundling as an approach worth considering. Communities can assemble projects for competitive procurement, and the process can be repeated over several years rather than completed in one campaign.

Grid Connections Remain a Barrier

Fast deployment can overwhelm rural distribution networks designed for low electricity consumption. When many households export solar power together, electricity can flow back through substations that lack sufficient capacity.

Chinese authorities have designated areas according to their ability to absorb generation, restricting new connections where networks are constrained. Hove said these difficulties emerged early in the rooftop programme and remain incompletely resolved.

China’s ability to build power lines cheaply helps address constraints. Institutional conflicts are harder to settle.

“I don’t think that China has the magic recipe for overcoming some of those political obstacles,” Hove said.

Grid companies, regulators and local governments have different incentives. State ownership does not automatically align their interests or remove disputes over investment and financial returns.

Costs Depend on System Choices

Hove warned against attributing every system expense to renewable variability. China benefits from industrial demand, hydro resources and inexpensive batteries, but continues to build coal capacity.

He argued that excess capacity imposes costs, including payments compensating coal plants that operate less frequently. Those payments are passed to consumers, he said.

In his assessment, some costs reflect political decisions to maintain surplus capacity and insufficient system flexibility, rather than an unavoidable consequence of solar generation.

Electrification Extends Beyond Generation

Hove said electricity now supplies about 30 per cent of China’s energy use, with its share increasing by approximately one percentage point annually. He linked that growth to electric vehicles, economic restructuring and expanding electricity demand in services.

Heat pumps and induction cooking are also changing buildings. However, greater vehicle electrification does not automatically solve local rooftop export bottlenecks.

For Canada, the interview points to a connected task: reduce rooftop installation costs, plan distribution upgrades and examine utility incentives. Building solar capacity and enabling consumers to use electricity effectively require coordinated attention.

Related Energi Media YouTube Interviews

1. China Leads, Canada Lags on Electrification — Anders Hove — China’s electricity strategy, renewable integration and lessons for Canada.
2. Canada’s Battery Storage Opportunity — Katye Altieri — Falling battery costs, solar integration and the need for coordinated storage planning.
3. DC Smart Home Research — Amir Abbas Aghajani — Coordinating rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles and household electricity use.
4. Electrifying Canada’s Economy — Madeleine McPherson — Connecting grid expansion with electrification of transport, buildings and industry.
5. Utility Reform and Electricity Planning — Moz Salim — How utility reform can support household electrification and better electricity planning.