Highlights

• China ended 2025 with 1,494 GW of clean power capacity versus 1,420 GW of fossil fuels, achieving a 51% clean energy share while solar surged 1,500% since 2015.
• China's renewable buildout reinforces critical mineral leverage, controlling 91% of rare earth processing and 94% of magnet production essential for wind turbines.
• U.S. fossil capacity exceeds clean by 233 GW as natural gas construction accelerates, reflecting diverging energy strategies between the two nations.

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Reuters reports (opens in a new tab) that China ended 2025 with 1,494 gigawatts (GW) of clean power capacity versus 1,420 GW of fossil-fuel capacity, giving clean sources a 51% share of total installed capacity. Solar capacity alone has surged more than 1,500% since 2015 and now represents 18.3% of China’s fleet. Coal’s share of capacity has fallen to 42.7%.  Now the United States presents a sharp contrast. U.S. fossil-fuel capacity exceeds clean capacity by roughly 233 GW, and natural gas construction is accelerating, partly to support data centers and AI-related electricity demand.

The figures cited from Global Energy Monitor align broadly with other publicly available energy datasets. The milestone itself appears credible.

Solar Didn’t Just Scale — It Industrialized

China did not merely deploy panels. It industrialized an ecosystem.

Solar expansion requires polysilicon refining, aluminum framing, copper wiring, inverter manufacturing, grid modernization, and battery storage capacity. Wind deployment depends heavily on neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets, which in turn depend on rare earth separation and magnet manufacturing.

The Reuters column accurately captures the capacity transition. It does not fully explore the materials dimension. Yet energy capacity expansion is inseparable from mineral supply chains.

China currently accounts for approximately:

• 69% of rare earth mining
• 91% of rare earth processing
• 94% of rare earth magnet production

Clean megawatts ride on processing dominance.

Where the Analysis Holds — And Where It Leans

The column correctly documents:

• China’s clean capacity surpasses fossil capacity
• Solar’s transformative growth
• U.S. natural gas expansion
• Diverging national policy approaches

However, the suggestion that the United States risks “falling behind” reflects interpretive judgment. The U.S. remains the world’s largest natural gas producer, and expanding gas capacity reflects the strength of its domestic resources and policy priorities.

Divergence does not automatically equal disadvantage. It signals different strategic bets.

The Rare Earth Signal

For Rare Earth Exchanges™ readers, the deeper takeaway is industrial.

Wind turbines require permanent magnets. Solar farms require copper and aluminum. Grid expansion requires transformer steel and electrical components. Battery storage draws in lithium, graphite, cobalt, and nickel.

China’s renewable buildout reinforces its leverage in upstream and midstream critical minerals.

Capacity share tells one story. Processing share tells another.

Investor Takeaway

The energy headline is impressive. The mineral story is decisive.

Clean energy growth without secure magnet supply chains creates strategic exposure. Industrial power lies not only in megawatts, but in metallurgy and processing control.

Watch magnets, not just megawatts.

Source: Reuters commentary by Gavin Maguire, February 2026.