State Grid Integrates Over 50 Million Kilowatts of New Energy in Q1 2023

State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) announced that it has successfully integrated over 50 million kilowatts of new energy into the grid in the first quarter of the year. This achievement aligns with the government’s work report, which emphasizes the need to “actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality” while advancing carbon reduction, pollution control, and green growth for a comprehensive transformation of economic and social development.

SGCC is committed to implementing the spirit of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference by focusing on energy's green transformation. The company is dedicated to ensuring that new energy projects meeting policy requirements and planning are connected to the grid, facilitating the consumption and utilization of renewable energy, and serving high-quality development in the new energy sector.

During the first quarter, the cumulative installed capacity of wind and solar power generation in SGCC's operational areas increased by <b>53.8 million kilowatts</b>, marking a <b>19.1% year-on-year growth</b> and reaching a historic high for the same period.

SGCC has played a crucial role in supporting the grid by accelerating the development of the "Shagehuang" large-scale wind and solar power base and its associated transmission channels. The company is also enhancing the construction of grid supporting projects to improve the grid's capacity to accept, allocate, and regulate renewable energy.

Key projects within SGCC are progressing as planned. In alternating current (AC) projects, the expansion of the <b>Changsha 1000 kV Substation</b> has been approved, and the electrical installation for the <b>Tianjin South 1000 kV UHV Substation</b> is nearing completion. The construction of the <b>Aba-Chengdu East 1000 kV UHV AC line</b> is also underway.

In direct current (DC) projects, construction has commenced on the <b>Gansu-Zhejiang ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project</b>, while the civil construction for the converter stations of the <b>Longdong-Shandong, Jinshang-Hubei, Ningxia-Hunan,</b> and <b>Hami-Chongqing ±800 kV UHV DC</b> transmission projects is nearly complete, with electrical installation efforts currently in full swing. The civil construction for the converter stations in the <b>Shanbei-Anhui ±800 kV UHV DC</b> project is ongoing, while the <b>Qinghai-Tibet DC</b> project's converter station construction has reached the electrical installation phase.

Throughout the first quarter, SGCC has effectively balanced development and safety, project timelines and progress, while reinforcing resource allocation and support for the construction of renewable energy transmission projects. The Northwest Branch of SGCC has innovatively implemented a "first optimize, then connect to the grid" model for optimizing new energy's transient performance. This approach is being gradually applied at scale across several DC projects, including Longdong-Shandong, Ningxia-Hunan, and Hami-Chongqing, and is focused on ensuring that the new ultra-high voltage DC transmission systems and supporting power supply projects are ready for high-capacity power delivery during peak summer periods.

On March 23, the <b>750 kV Jinta Transmission and Transformation Project</b> in Jiuquan, Gansu, was put into operation, providing robust support for the local wind power base with a capacity of over <b>10 million kilowatts</b> and a solar power base with a capacity of over <b>1 million kilowatts</b> to effectively absorb and transmit renewable energy.

SGCC is continuously optimizing processes and improving the quality and efficiency of its grid connection services for renewable energy. During project preparation stages, dedicated teams proactively engage with new energy project owners to assist in designing grid connection systems. Utilizing the New Energy Cloud Platform, SGCC offers an "online + offline" dual-channel service for grid connection applications, plan approvals, and other related services, ensuring a streamlined experience.

In collaboration with the National Energy Administration, SGCC has revised and issued the <b>Management Measures for the Development and Construction of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation</b>. This initiative aims to encourage provinces to introduce supportive documents, enhance the regular mechanisms for service delivery in distributed energy projects, and standardize assessments of hosting capacity to facilitate local access and utilization of distributed photovoltaic energy.

SGCC's Shandong Power Company has launched a special initiative called <b>"Clear Wind, Warm Sun"</b> to enhance grid connection services for new energy, actively participating in project design reviews, quality acceptance, and grid connection procedures to address various stakeholder needs promptly. Meanwhile, the Jiangsu Power Company is piloting a cooperative model for the clustered development of distributed photovoltaic projects to improve project advancement efficiency.

SGCC is also promoting the establishment of a unified national electricity market and innovating long-term green electricity trading to increase the participation of renewable energy in the market. The North China Branch has utilized time differences to facilitate staggered trading of green electricity from Xinjiang to Beijing, achieving mutual benefits. By the end of March, the green electricity trading volume in the North China grid reached <b>62.7 billion kilowatt-hours</b>.

A long-term green electricity trading agreement has been finalized for the inter-provincial green electricity transactions from Gansu to Tianjin for the years <b>2025 to 2029</b>, marking Tianjin's first long-term green electricity transaction.

The Xinjiang Power Company is enhancing the market mechanism for green electricity consumption and employing a combination of long- and short-term trading models to expand the scale of green electricity transactions. As of the end of March, Xinjiang's consumption of green electricity for the year reached <b>4.7 billion kilowatt-hours</b>.