When the price of fossil fuel tightensthe answer is not long in coming. The Iran war caused breaking the barrier of 100 dollars per barrel WTI. It was not surprising considering that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to the loss of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined products, leaving the market with a net deficit of about eight million barrels per day. The world did not sit idly by watching the price of fuel rise and the reaction was immediate: buy solar panels at industrial levels.
And, in that scenario, there is a very clear winner: China.
Bottleneck. When the war startedsome of the first objectives had to do with energy. Through the Strait of Hormuz It moves more than 20% of the oil consumed by the world, being a strategic element and, therefore, vulnerable. With the closure of the Ras Tanura refinery and with the collapse of the strait itself, a brutal traffic jam was caused in which hundreds of vessels They moved at the speed of a bicycle.
According to Bloombergthere were more than 800 stuck boats, and an Al Jazeera investigation pointed out that, in the first 40 days of conflict, 206 million barrels disappeared from the market. With that amount, 103 supertankers would be filled. The reaction of the governments was to begin releasing millions of barrels from their emergency reserves, as well as to call on citizens to spend as little as possible.
Chinese panels. This is when countries have accelerated the transformation of their electrical network. As we read in Electrekwith data from Ember, China exported 68 GW of solar energy in March alone. The graph prepared by Ember speaks for itself, but that amount is double February’s total and 49% more than the previous record, set in August 2025.
It is estimated that the solar energy installed in Spain is about 42 GW by the end of 2025and being Spain one of the powers in this sensespeaks volumes about the extent to which the world has turned to Chinese solar when the fossil fuel belt was tight.
It goes through neighborhoods. The largest clients have been the logical ones: those most exposed to fluctuations in fossil fuel prices. Imports from Africa increased by 176%, reaching 10 GW with Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia being the largest importers. India imported 6.6 GW, Malaysia 1.8 GW and, in total, other Asian countries added 39 GW.
Panels were also purchased in Europe, Japan and Australia, but the study points out that capacity was lower due to work carried out previously, and in the Middle East things were more complicated due to trade restrictions due to the war.
Trend change. Something that the study points out is that, although entire panels continue to be purchased from China, there seems to be a turning of the tables because imports of solar cells are increasing, which are subsequently assembled in the destination country.
For example, of those 68 GW exported, 32 GW belong to pre-assembled panels and 36 GW to cells and wafers. One is going down, the other is going up. And something important: it also means a relief for a China whose panel companies they were dying of success.
Not just the panels. And this commitment to new energy not only translates into a greater amount of solar energy exported. Batteries and electric vehicles They are also booming and it is estimated that, as a whole, they increased by 70% year-on-year and by 38% compared to February.
The Spanish lifeguard. Going down the data, the global implementation of solar energy is growing and it is being seen that it is not only a way to pollute less, but also to cushion the blow of the fossil fuel price increase that can suffer turbulence due to war, geopolitical issues or by accidents.
It also shows that the fact that much of the world’s oil passes through a single point is something that can strangle the market in the event of a catastrophe, explaining why countries seek this transition to renewable energies that make them more self-sufficient.
Images | Jenikir
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