A better‑optimized energy mix stands as a key feature of the new‑type energy system. By 2030, China will see higher installed capacity of new‑energy power generation and an increased share of non‑fossil‑fuel power generation. Meanwhile, the long‑standing pattern whereby energy production concentrates in western China while energy consumption is mainly centered in central and eastern regions remains unchanged, and the scale of “West‑to‑East Power Transmission” keeps expanding.

The 15th Five‑Year Plan for the Development of the New‑type Energy System (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) clearly stipulates: “Energy‑rich regions shall strengthen energy development and extend industrial chains, and coordinate West‑for‑West Power Utilization and West‑to‑East Power Transmission.” According to the National Energy Administration, during the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, while scaling up “West‑to‑East Energy Delivery”, China will step up efforts to advance “West‑for‑West Energy Utilization”.

What does this mean?

On June 30, the Northern Shaanxi‑Anhui ±800 kV UHVDC transmission project was fully completed and put into operation. Starting from the Baotashan Converter Station in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province and ending at the Hezhou Converter Station in Hefei, Anhui Province, this power transmission project traverses Shaanxi, Henan and Anhui provinces. It marks the first UHVDC transmission project commissioned in China during the 15th Five‑Year Plan, adding a new corridor for West‑to‑East Power Transmission.

“West‑to‑East Power Transmission” originates from the reverse distribution of energy resources and power load across China. Energy resources are mostly located in western and northern China, whereas power consumption is predominantly in eastern and central areas. This landscape necessitates long‑distance power delivery from west to east.

How effective has China’s West‑to‑East Power Transmission initiative been overall?

In terms of scale: statistics show that China now boasts more than one‑million‑kilometers of transmission lines of 220 kV and above, with grid‑connected new‑energy capacity exceeding 1.8 TW. Twenty‑four UHVDC backbone arteries have been built, bringing the capacity of West‑to‑East Power Transmission to 340 GW. A nationwide West‑to‑East power grid has taken shape, with northwest and southwest regions as sending‑ends, north, east and central China as receiving‑ends, UHV power grid as the main framework and hybrid AC‑DC inter‑regional connections. Growing volumes of western green electricity are delivered through this extensive grid to eastern load centers.

In terms of efficiency: calculations indicate that the West‑to‑East Power Transmission system can deliver 29 000 kWh per second, with annual transmitted electricity surpassing 920 billion kWh, enough to satisfy household power demand of over half of China’s families. Meanwhile, clean energy accounts for an ever‑larger share of power transported via UHVDC projects. In 2024, cross‑regional UHVDC lines delivered around 420 billion kWh of clean energy, a 70% rise compared with the end of the 13th Five‑Year Plan, accounting for nearly 60% of total transmission volume.

“China has built multiple UHV transmission lines, each with greater power‑transport capacity than any major power trunk line in the United States,” a previous report by The New York Times commented.

China’s power grid architecture will be further improved in the 15th Five‑Year Plan period. Du Zhongming, Director‑General of the Electric Power Department of the National Energy Administration, stated that China will strive to build a new‑type power grid platform featuring coordinated development of backbone grids, distribution networks and microgrids, enhance grid security resilience and hold the bottom‑line for safe operation of large‑scale power grids. During the 15th Five‑Year Plan, 15 new UHVDC green‑power transmission corridors will be commissioned, lifting West‑to‑East Power Transmission capacity above 420 GW.

Beyond West‑to‑East Power Transmission. According to Wan Jinsong, Deputy Administrator of the National Energy Administration, China has established the overall pattern of “West‑to‑East Power Transmission”, “West‑to‑East Gas Transmission”, “West‑to‑East Coal Transportation” and “North‑to‑South Coal Transportation”. “During the 15th Five‑Year Plan, we will further expand the scale of West‑to‑East Energy Delivery to reliably meet energy demand in central and eastern regions,” Wan Jinsong remarked. In the power sector, China will accelerate the construction of clean‑energy bases such as wind and photovoltaic power in the Three‑North regions and their outward transmission corridors, with over 80 GW of new West‑to‑East power delivery capacity expected. For oil and gas, construction of West‑to‑East gas transmission corridors will be accelerated. In the coal sector, coal transportation layout will be continuously optimized to expand coal shipments out of Xinjiang.

Since the release of the Plan, much attention has been paid to a new expression: West‑for‑West Power Utilization.

In the past, western China largely functioned as an energy base. It is endowed with abundant wind and solar resources, accounting for over 70% of China’s total renewable‑energy resources. Western regions are also rich in traditional fossil fuels. Since the 14th Five‑Year Plan, China has pushed forward the development of five major coal supply security bases: western Inner Mongolia, eastern Inner Mongolia, northern Shaanxi, Shanxi and Xinjiang, which together produce roughly 80% of China’s coal output. Much of this traditional and new‑energy power was transported to central and eastern China to satisfy consumption needs.

The Plan explicitly requires coordinated development of West‑for‑West Power Utilization and West‑to‑East Power Transmission. Wan Jinsong noted that while scaling up West‑to‑East Energy Delivery in the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, China will intensify efforts to pursue West‑for‑West Energy Utilization.

“West‑for‑West Energy Utilization calls for stronger production‑capacity coordination and steady optimization of productive‑forces distribution. We will guide the orderly relocation of high‑energy‑intensity industries to western China, align the siting of advanced manufacturing, computing power, hydrogen‑related industries with the development of clean‑energy bases, and optimize the spatial layout of energy‑consuming industries. In the future, western China will not only export power, coal and gas, but also deliver manufactured products and tokens,” said Wan Jinsong.

The shift toward West‑for‑West Energy Utilization means western regions will not merely export energy, but also consume more energy locally.

“West‑for‑West Energy Utilization is not meant to overturn the West‑to‑East Energy Delivery pattern. Instead, it pursues incremental growth on the basis of sustainable West‑to‑East energy flows and further leverages the strengths of resource‑rich provinces,” explained Yao Mingtao, Associate Research Fellow at the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Yao Mingtao analyzed that the long‑established West‑to‑East Energy Delivery framework has effectively converted western China’s resource advantages into economic gains. Major energy projects have driven comprehensive upgrades in transportation, logistics and other infrastructure in western regions, creating conditions for the orderly relocation of high‑energy‑intensity industries westward. Therefore, the timing is ripe for the state to plan West‑for‑West Energy Utilization and guide such industrial relocation.

Furthermore, new‑energy power generation will serve as the main source of newly‑added power capacity in the 15th Five‑Year Plan. “Relying solely on West‑to‑East Energy Delivery cannot fully unlock western China’s development potential. Given the spatial mismatch between resource endowments and energy‑consuming industries, relocating high‑energy‑intensity industries westward enables fuller exploitation of new‑energy power and improves local consumption of renewable power,” Yao Mingtao pointed out.

Industry insiders observe that West‑for‑West Energy Utilization is more than a simple readjustment of the energy mix or mere westward transfer of eastern‑origin industries. It represents a systematic initiative for building an energy‑powerful nation and boosting regional economic growth. In recent years, the strategy for coordinated regional development has yielded tangible results. New growth poles such as the Chengdu‑Chongqing Twin‑City Economic Circle, the Middle‑Yangtze Urban Agglomeration and the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration are rising rapidly. While absorbing relocated industries, these areas also pose new challenges for energy‑power security. Accordingly, priorities for China’s power supply security should evolve to balance western needs alongside central‑eastern demands, and to give equal attention to power‑exporting provinces as well as power‑consuming provinces.

“Against this backdrop, advancing West‑for‑West Energy Utilization shall be rooted in western China’s energy‑resource endowments and infrastructure. We need better coordination between energy production layout and energy‑consuming industries. While fulfilling West‑to‑East power transmission missions, the national backbone grid should also support mutual power support and mutual assistance among provinces, so as to deliver stable power generation and consumption and improve western‑central regions’ capacity to host relocated industries,” Yao Mingtao said.

With further implementation of West‑for‑West Energy Utilization and West‑to‑East Energy Delivery, new shifts will take place in China’s national energy production‑consumption landscape.

“First, integration between clean energy and industries will accelerate,” Wan Jinsong said. More high‑energy‑intensity, low‑emission industries and projects will locate in western China and tap clean‑energy supplies. Such industrial‑energy integration will become a new growth driver for western economies.

Second, new forms of clean‑energy delivery will emerge. The Plan proposes building green hydrogen‑ammonia‑methanol production bases in suitable locations including Northeast China (including eastern Inner Mongolia), the “U‑shaped bend” of the Yellow River, northern North China and the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. In addition, planning guidance for hydrogen‑transport pipelines will be strengthened. “Cross‑regional new‑energy exports will no longer be limited to electricity; energy can also be delivered in forms of hydrogen and green fuels,” Wan Jinsong explained.

What underpins this innovation of new‑energy export shifting from power transmission to hydrogen and green‑fuel delivery?

Dong Bo, Deputy Director of the Planning Division within the Planning & Development Department of the China Electricity Council, noted that wind and solar new‑energy sources feature low energy density, scattered distribution plus volatility and intermittency. Converting them into high‑grade electric power is the most convenient and efficient utilization pathway. “Nevertheless, rapid expansion of new‑energy generation has intensified power‑system consumption pressure. During the 15th Five‑Year Plan, non‑fossil‑fuel consumption is targeted to reach roughly 25%. Large‑scale new‑energy development requires not only power‑generation utilization but also expanded non‑electric applications, including hydrogen energy, geothermal energy and green fuels.”

“Previously, new‑energy power generated in western regions was transported via UHV corridors for consumption in central‑eastern areas. Based on non‑electric utilization, the Plan encourages converting new‑energy into green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, which can then be transported via hydrogen‑blended natural‑gas pipelines. This not only supplies abundant green hydrogen‑based energy for central‑eastern regions, but also fosters new‑type energy infrastructure and supports overall energy transition,” Dong Bo added.

It is noteworthy that during the 15th Five‑Year Plan, central and eastern regions will not merely receive imported energy from afar; they will also strengthen their own domestic energy production capacity. The Plan sets a goal whereby 70% of incremental energy consumption in eastern China in the 15th Five‑Year Plan shall be met by local production. “We will encourage major energy‑consuming central‑eastern regions to tap local potential, boost nearby development and utilization of domestic non‑fossil fuels, deploy appropriate new supporting power sources, and realize the vision of ‘power comes both from afar and from local sources’,” Wan Jinsong stated.

(Reporter: Liao Ruiling)