China has recently completed its first market-based inter-provincial peak-shifting green electricity trading, transferring 12 million kilowatt-hours of green power from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the city of Beijing.
Green electricity is characterized by zero or near-zero carbon dioxide emissions during production.
Xinjiang, rich in wind and solar resources, has a renewable energy capacity of more than 100 million kW.
Due to a time difference of at least two hours in sunlight between Beijing and Xinjiang, when Beijing hits its evening electricity consumption peak around 17:00, Xinjiang is generating solar power at its highest rate.
This unique timing allowed for China's first market-based green electricity transaction, involving 12 million kilowatt-hours of power. This not only boosts the supply of green electricity entering Beijing but also optimizes the use of solar energy during the peak sunlight hours in Xinjiang.
"Market-based mechanisms enable the large power grid to effectively coordinate and optimize resource allocation, fostering energy complementarity between new energy resource-rich areas in the west like Xinjiang, and load centers in the east like Beijing. This approach provides fresh perspective on resource allocation in China's power market and has important demonstration significance for promoting cross-regional energy optimization and the buildup of a unified national electricity market," said Yu Le, a market trading director at Beijing's electricity transaction center.
Beijing has experienced significant growth in the volume of green electricity imported into the city in recent years. By 2024, the green electricity reaching Beijing hit 35 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for 29 percent of the city's overall electricity consumption. This figure is expected to rise to 40 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025.
China completes 1st inter-provincial peak-shifting green electricity trading
