Against the backdrop of deepening the energy revolution and building a new type of power system, Qinghai, a major clean energy province in China, has taken a crucial step towards on-site consumption and direct load connection of green electricity. On November 28, 2025, the Development and Reform Commission of Qinghai Province officially announced the first batch of pilot projects for direct connection of green electricity in the province. A total of 7 projects were successfully selected this time, with a total scale of 2237.93 megawatts (approximately 2.2 gigawatts), marking that Qinghai Province has entered a substantive operational stage in exploring the efficient utilization of renewable energy and promoting the green transformation of energy consumption.

This list covers various technological routes such as wind power, photovoltaics, and solar thermal power, aiming to accurately connect the abundant clean energy in the local area with high energy carrying industries and new quality productivity projects through the innovative model of "green power direct connection". It is worth noting that the selection of a 58 MW solar thermal power generation project demonstrates the unique value of long-term energy storage in ensuring grid stability and providing reliable green electricity, providing an important practical sample for the construction of China's new energy system.

The scale structure presents a diversified pattern

According to the announcement, the total installed capacity of the first seven pilot projects is 2237.93 megawatts, with wind power being the largest, reaching 1750 megawatts; Photovoltaic follows closely behind, with a scale of 429.93 megawatts; In addition, solar thermal power generation also has a place, with a scale of 58 megawatts. This multi energy complementary structural design is conducive to leveraging the technological characteristics of different renewable energy sources to achieve more stable and efficient power supply.

The diversification of project types is equally prominent. The selected projects not only include the green upgrading of traditional high energy consuming industries such as electrolytic aluminum, but also cover cutting-edge fields representing new quality productivity such as smart computing integration, as well as clean energy substitution for oilfield operations. This layout fully reflects the core orientation of "green power direct connection" serving the real economy and empowering industrial transformation.

Solar thermal selection highlights energy storage value

Among the first batch of projects, the selection of solar thermal power generation is particularly noteworthy. Unlike the intermittency of wind and solar power, solar thermal power plants equipped with large-scale thermal storage systems can achieve continuous and stable power generation. Although their total installed capacity of 58 megawatts is not large, they play a key role as "stabilizers" and "regulators" in the entire green power direct connection system.

This move indicates that policy makers have attached great importance to the reliability of power supply and the safety of the power grid when promoting direct trading of green electricity. Including solar thermal projects with long-term energy storage capabilities in the pilot program can help smooth out the output fluctuations of other renewable energy sources, provide high-quality green power guarantees for loads such as electrolytic aluminum that require continuous and reliable power sources, and is an important exploration for building a new type of high proportion renewable energy power system.

The public announcement of the first batch of pilot projects for green power direct connection is a specific action taken by Qinghai Province and even China to implement the spirit of relevant national documents. According to the requirements of documents such as the "Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration on Orderly Promoting the Development of Green Power Direct Connection", Qinghai Province organized a strict joint evaluation and finally determined this list.

The key to the success of this pilot project lies in its innovative approach to bypassing the traditional grid unified procurement and sales model, shortening the chain of clean energy from production to consumption through direct connection, which is expected to significantly improve the utilization efficiency and economy of new energy. The implementation of the project will accumulate valuable experience for promoting the direct connection mode of green electricity nationwide, solve the problem of clean energy consumption, and explore a replicable and promotable Qinghai path for China to achieve its "dual carbon" goals. Keywords: New Energy Latest News, New Energy Latest Reports

The release of the first batch of green power direct connection pilot projects in Qinghai Province is a landmark breakthrough in China's energy transformation process. This 2.2 gigawatt project is not only a simple sum of installed capacity, but also represents a new paradigm of energy supply and demand from "grid connected" to "direct connected". With the implementation and operation of these pilot projects, they will be like a series of vivid practical classrooms, contributing crucial Qinghai wisdom and solutions to building a more flexible, efficient, and green modern energy system. Editor/Yang Beihua