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China's electricity grid transmits 10.5 TWh vs the U.S. grid's 4.3 TWh (2.5×)…

2026-08-04 · 21:01 UTC ·@Object_Zero_ ·1 min read

Brief

Author @ObjectZero (2026-08-04) warns China is rapidly outpacing the U.S. in electricity: China’s grid transmits 10.5 TWh vs the U.S.’s 4.3 TWh and is adding 497 TWh/yr versus America’s 120 TWh/yr. The thread highlights that 90% of U.S. solar panels are made in China, leaving the U.S. grid industry ~12× smaller and strategically vulnerable.

Why it matters

China's electricity grid transmits 10.5 TWh vs the U.S. grid's 4.3 TWh (2.5×); China supplies 35% of global electricity (post published 2026-08-04).

Key details

  • China's grid is growing by +497 TWh/yr vs the U.S. +120 TWh/yr (4.2× faster); 61% of U.S. grid growth last year was solar, and 90% of those solar panels are made in China.
  • China produced 100% of its own new generation and 56% of all U.S. new generation; U.S.-made grid infrastructure adds only +50 TWh/yr of the combined 630 TWh, China’s grid-building industry is ~12× larger — a gap the author calls 'This is not what winning looks like' and a16z flags as a national-security risk.
Source evidence

The Power Race

• Status
The Chinese electricity grid (10.5TWh) transmits 2.5 times more energy than the US grid (4.3TWh).

35% of all the world’s electricity is inside China.

• Growth
The Chinese grid (adds 497 TWh /yr) is growing 4.2x faster than the US grid (adds 120 TWh/yr).

China is pulling away and quickly, the gap is big and yawning wider.

FURTHER…

Of all the growth of the US grid last year… 61% of it was solar, and of those solar panels 90% are made in China.

So China made 100% of their own new generation and 56% of all US new generation too.

US made grid infrastructure (transmission + generation) is just +50TWh /yr of the 630TWh China+US combined.

China’s grid building industry is 12x larger than America’s and the dissymmetry keeps widening.

This is not what winning looks like.

a16z (@a16z)

"Last year, China generated more than twice as much electricity as the United States, and as energy becomes the bottleneck on industries like AI and manufacturing, that gap is becoming a national security problem."

Base Power & the Future of Electricity, by @espricewright & @mikemcg0: a16z.news/p/base-power-and-t…

— https://nitter.net/a16z/status/2084716067675578398#m