Chinese solar exports doubled in a single month to reach a record high in March as the energy crisis sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran accelerated demand for alternatives to oil and gas across Asia, Africa and beyond, according to an energy think tank.
The exports reached 68 gigawatt (GW) in March – equivalent to Spain’s entire solar capacity – surpassing the previous record set in August 2025 by 49 per cent, Ember said.
At least 50 nations set all-time records for Chinese solar imports that same month, with a further 60 seeing their highest levels in six months, the think tank’s analysis of customs data found.
Regions most acutely affected by the energy crisis saw the sharpest increases. Exports to Africa rose 176 per cent compared to February to reach 10GW, while exports to Asia doubled to about 39GW – both all-time records.
Together, the two regions accounted for three-quarters of the overall increase. India’s imports rose 141 per cent, Nigeria’s 519 per cent, Kenya’s 207 per cent, and Ethiopia’s 391 per cent, each importing more than one GW of solar technology in a single month for the first time ever.
Records were also set in Japan, Australia and across the EU. The Middle East was the only region not to see a step up in solar imports as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz massively affected trade flows.
“Fossil shocks are boosting the solar surge,” said Euan Graham, senior analyst at Ember. “Solar has already become the engine of the global economy, and now the current fossil fuel price shocks are taking it up a gear. Countries are importing solar panels at record levels, and building up their own domestic assembly and manufacturing capabilities to address surging global demand.”
The surge was also partly driven by a change in Chinese export tax rebate rules that came into force in April, adding around 9 per cent to solar panel costs and prompting a rush of purchases before the deadline.
Demand was not limited to finished panels. Exports of solar cells and wafers, which are increasingly assembled into panels outside China, rose 108 per cent from February levels to reach 36GW, overtaking panel exports for the first time since October 2025. Panel exports rose 91 per cent to 32GW.
Battery exports surged as countries sought to store solar electricity generated during the day for use in the evening. China’s battery exports rose 44 per cent from February to reach $10bn in March, with particularly strong demand in the EU, Australia and India.
The scale of the clean energy build-out is beginning to rival the fossil fuel disruption it is responding to. Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026, published earlier this week, found that record growth in solar generation in 2025 was sufficient to displace gas-fired electricity equivalent to all liquefied natural gas exports through the Strait of Hormuz last year.
The global electric vehicle fleet displaced 1.8 million barrels per day of oil demand in 2025, equivalent to 13 per cent of US crude oil production.
