Chinese Solar Panels Drop to 12 Cents a Watt, Rooftop Installs Surge Worldwide

Chinese-made photovoltaic panels cost 12 cents a watt in 2026, down from $5-$6 at the turn of the millennium, and that price collapse is now powering rooftop solar installations from Pakistani cement plants to Philippine homes and Australian suburbs, according to the Financial Times.

A Pakistani cement giant has cut its power costs by up to 40% with solar at its production sites, and rooftop solar capacity in the Philippines has nearly doubled in a year.