Shanghai and Xizang forge first-of-its-kind green electricity pact across thousand miles

Shanghai and Xizang have achieved their first green electricity transaction, transferring 7.85 million kWh of clean energy in a deal facilitated by the Beijing Power Exchange Center. The agreement was announced during the 60th anniversary of the Xizang Autonomous Region's establishment.

This transaction marks the first cross-regional green power delivery since the expansion of the Qaidam-Lhasa HVDC second-phase project. It highlights the growing role of China’s unified national electricity market in enabling large-scale green energy distribution.

The trade was conducted through two separate transmission routes: one using the Qaidam-Lhasa and Lingzhou-Shaoxing HVDC projects, and another more innovative path employing three interconnected lines—Qaidam-Lhasa, Longdong-Shandong, and Xilingol-Taizhou—spanning Northwest, North, and East China.

This successful transaction fully utilizes the surplus capacity of interregional transmission channels. The deal involved 37 market entities. Major power producers involved included China Huadian Corporation, China Huaneng, China Energy Investment, State Power Investment Corporation, and China Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation. On the consumer side, seven electricity retailers representing numerous corporate users in Shanghai took part.

"At this significant historical milestone of Xizang's 60th anniversary, the breakthrough in Shanghai-Xizang green electricity trading is not only a vivid embodiment of deepened energy cooperation and a shared commitment to the 'Dual Carbon' goals but also powerful proof of how the unified national electricity market empowers coordinated regional development," said Huangru Zhu, head of the trading department at the Shanghai Power Exchange Center.

Looking ahead, Shanghai plans to expand green power collaborations with Xizang and other energy-rich regions, supporting the development of a more integrated national electricity market. 

To date, Shanghai has engaged in green power cooperation with 16 provinces and regions. Since the beginning of this year, it has conducted over 180 inter-provincial green electricity transactions, totaling 7.6 billion kilowatt-hours, maintaining a trend of rapid annual growth.