China Rooftops Could Host Enough Solar Capacity to Nearly Match Global Total

(Bloomberg) — China’s buildings and rooftops have potential to host more than 1,000 gigawatts of solar power capacity — almost the same size as the entire existing global industry, according to the sector’s largest manufacturer.

There’s theoretically enough space on residential, commercial and public properties to host that scale of generation capacity as costs drop and technologies advance, said Zhong Baoshen, chairman of Longi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. That would be enough to power at least 750 million homes during peak generation.