China Unveils New Power System Blueprint, Trillions in Play

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have jointly issued the “15th Five-Year Plan for New Power System Construction,” setting the strategic goal of preliminarily building a new power system by 2030. The plan, publicly released on August 3, establishes ambitious targets including non-fossil energy power generation reaching 50% of total output, total installed capacity of 5.4 billion kilowatts, and high-level consumption of over 2.8 billion kilowatts of new energy, according to Xinhua News.

A Landmark Policy Framework

The plan, formally issued as Document No. 发改能源〔2026〕942号 on July 21, represents China’s first dedicated five-year plan for new power system construction. It establishes 16 major indicators across eight dimensions, including green low-carbon development, power supply, grid development, and consumption coordination, as reported by Securities Daily.

“This plan is both a technical roadmap and a construction plan for the green low-carbon energy transition,” said Xiao Hongwei, director and researcher at the NDRC National Information Center’s Economic Forecasting Department Policy Simulation Laboratory. “From early exploration to systematic advancement, new power system construction is entering a brand new phase.”

The plan follows the broader “15th Five-Year Plan for New Energy System Construction” and aligns with China’s dual-carbon goals and energy security strategy. It is part of the “Six Networks” infrastructure initiative, which encompasses water networks, new grids, computing networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks, and logistics networks, with total investment expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan during the period.

Ambitious 2030 Targets

By 2030, the plan envisions a green, low-carbon power supply structure with non-fossil energy power generation reaching 50% of total output. Total installed capacity is targeted to reach 5.4 billion kilowatts, up from 3.89 billion kilowatts at the end of 2025, with non-fossil energy installed capacity accounting for 65% of the total.

Key infrastructure targets include West-to-East power transmission capacity exceeding 420 million kilowatts, conventional hydropower installed capacity reaching approximately 410 million kilowatts, and nuclear power installed capacity reaching about 110 million kilowatts. The plan also calls for a charging infrastructure network supporting over 110 million electric vehicles, with total charging infrastructure exceeding 40 million units and approximately 300,000 high-power charging facilities.

The plan introduces the concept of a “main-distribution-micro coordinated new grid” for the first time, according to the official NEA announcement. Xiao Hongwei explained that this new grid architecture is “based on the backbone grid and distribution grid, supplemented by smart microgrids, forming a three-layer coordinated operation system.”

Unprecedented Investment Scale

The NEA estimates that energy key projects and new business investment will exceed 20 trillion yuan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Grid investment alone is expected to surpass 5 trillion yuan, with State Grid Corporation planning 4 trillion yuan in fixed asset investment—a 40% increase from the 14th Five-Year Plan period—and China Southern Power Grid’s investment entering the trillion-yuan level, expected to drive 2 trillion yuan in upstream and downstream supply chain investment.

“During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the in-construction scale of ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission projects exceeds the combined total of the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plan periods,” according to Science and Technology Daily. State Grid is accelerating the construction of UHV DC transmission channels, improving AC grid frameworks in East, North, Central, and Southwest China, and advancing key projects including DC back-to-back connections and offshore wind power transmission.

Investment momentum is already visible in first-half 2026 data. Grid investment grew 13.5% year-on-year, charging and swapping infrastructure investment grew 21.8%, and new energy storage investment surged 74.3%. State Grid completed over 310 billion yuan in fixed asset investment, up 12.6%, while Southern Power Grid completed 89.262 billion yuan, up 14.79%, as detailed in Xinhua’s coverage of the plan’s investment implications.

Energy Storage: The Fastest-Growing Frontier

The plan sets particularly ambitious targets for new energy storage, which has emerged as the fastest-growing investment area. Approximately 160 million kilowatts of new energy storage will be added during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, with national new energy storage capacity reaching 300 million kilowatts by 2030. Grid-side independent new energy storage for peak supply is targeted at 140 million kilowatts.

Sun Chuanwang, professor at Xiamen University’s China Energy Economics Research Center, noted that the plan “not only clarifies development scale targets for new energy storage, pumped storage, virtual power plants, vehicle-grid interaction, and demand response, but also expands the application areas of regulation resources in power source coordinated operation and grid stability support, further building a diversified regulation ecosystem.”

Computing-Power Coordination: A New Investment Frontier

The plan places unprecedented emphasis on coordinating power and computing infrastructure, driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and data center demand. Computing power electricity consumption is expected to increase by over 100 billion kilowatt-hours annually, reaching 800 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030—approximately 6% of total social electricity consumption.

The plan calls for coordinated planning of computing and power projects, green power direct connection for intelligent computing centers, and source-grid-load-storage integration models. “The plan not only focuses on power development itself, but also promotes coordinated integration with computing power, transportation and other fields,” Xiao Hongwei said, “striving to leverage the mutual promotion between the new power system and the modern industrial system.”

Structural Transformation Underway

The plan arrives at a pivotal moment for China’s energy sector. In the first half of 2026, renewable energy power generation as a share of total power generation exceeded 40% for the first time, while coal power generation share fell below 50% for the first time. China has already built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, with 46 UHV projects in operation by the end of 2025.

“China has basically formed a clean power supply system with diversified development of coal, gas, nuclear and renewable energy,” said Yang Kun, executive vice chairman of the China Electricity Council. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the dominant position of non-fossil energy power generation installed capacity will be further consolidated.”

The power system is shifting from the traditional “source follows load” model to a “source-grid-load-storage coordinated interaction” model, with new energy transitioning from “supplementary energy” to “main source of electricity.” During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, national average annual electricity consumption increase is expected to reach approximately 600 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to adding one medium-sized economy’s electricity consumption every year.

What to Watch For

As the plan moves from paper to implementation, several developments merit close attention. The rollout of UHV transmission projects and the “Sha-Guo-Huang” (desert, Gobi, wasteland) 100% new energy transmission pilot projects will test the grid’s capacity to handle massive renewable energy flows. The pace of new energy storage deployment will be critical to maintaining grid stability as renewable penetration deepens.

Market mechanism reforms and the development of virtual power plants and demand response programs will determine how effectively the “soft infrastructure” of the new power system evolves. And the integration of computing and power infrastructure—driven by AI’s insatiable energy appetite—represents a novel frontier that could reshape both sectors.

With over 20 trillion yuan in projected investment and a clear policy roadmap, China’s new power system construction is entering a phase of unprecedented scale and complexity. For investors and industry stakeholders, the blueprint offers a definitive guide to where the opportunities lie in the years ahead.