On August 3, 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration publicly released the "15th Five Year Plan" for the construction of a new power system. The plan clearly states that by 2030, the proportion of non fossil energy generation will reach 50%, achieving high-level consumption of new energy of over 2.8 billion kilowatts, and the scale of West East power transmission will exceed 420 million kilowatts. This means that by 2030, for every two degrees of electricity used in China, one degree will come from non fossil energy sources.

The expansion of West East power transmission and the synchronous acceleration of new power grid construction

The West East Power Transmission will undergo significant expansion during the 15th Five Year Plan period. The plan proposes to add more than 15 extra high voltage direct current transmission channels by 2030, and the scale of West East power transmission will exceed 420 million kilowatts. At present, State Grid has completed and put into operation 39 ultra-high voltage projects, with a cross provincial and cross regional transmission capacity of over 300 million kilowatts. The total scale of ultra-high voltage under construction during the 15th Five Year Plan period will exceed the sum of the 13th and 14th Five Year Plans.

In the construction of new power grids, the planned investment in new power grids across the country during the 15th Five Year Plan period will exceed 5 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 80% over the grid fixed assets investment during the 14th Five Year Plan period. The plan proposes to build a new type of power grid with main distribution and micro coordination, covering tasks such as optimizing the layout of national power flow, planning and constructing offshore transmission networks, and creating a strong and resilient distribution system.

Synchronized upgrade of regulation capability and electricity consumption mode

The plan clearly states to accelerate the construction of pumped storage power stations and promote the large-scale development of new energy storage. As of the end of June 2026, the installed capacity of new energy storage in China has reached 153 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 61%. Simultaneously promoting the upgrading and transformation of the new generation of coal-fired power plants, the positioning of coal-fired power plants has shifted from being the main power source to providing backup and regulating power sources. The maximum regulation capacity target of the virtual power plant exceeds 50 million kilowatts and supports the construction of a charging infrastructure network for over 110 million electric vehicles.

The proportion of 50% non fossil energy generation is not a starting point scale, but a measure of the degree of transformation.Editor/Cheng Liting