Yunnan’s Green Power Trading Achieves Brilliant Start with 219% Year-on-Year Growth in Q1

In the first quarter of this year, Yunnan Province’s green power trading volume reached 626 million kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 219%, successfully achieving a “brilliant start” for the province’s green power trading in 2026. Leveraging its abundant green energy resources, Yunnan has been continuously deepening the green power market in recent years, promoting the integrated development of green power and characteristic industries. 

Xinhua News Agency reports that relying on its rich hydropower, wind power and solar energy resources, Yunnan has made remarkable progress in green power development and trading. Kunming Power Exchange Center has optimized green power trading services, realizing regular market opening and providing convenient and efficient trading channels for market entities. Since the launch of green power trading in 2022, the cumulative green power trading volume in Yunnan has exceeded 3.1 billion kilowatt-hours. 

With the expanding scale of green power application, characteristic industrial ecosystems such as “green power + advanced manufacturing”, “green power + intelligent computing” and “green power + cultural tourism” have developed vigorously in Yunnan. Key energy-consuming industries and enterprises in the province, including electrolytic aluminum and data centers, have gradually achieved a high proportion of green power consumption, marking new breakthroughs in “green power +” empowering industrial transformation. 

China Economic Net notes that Yunnan has taken the lead in promoting the market-oriented reform of green power. In May 2025, it took the lead in the country to realize the free transfer of green certificates for existing conventional hydropower. Up to now, the province has cumulatively transferred 243 million “free” green certificates, directly benefiting 71,800 electricity-consuming enterprises. 

Recently, the “Yunnan Provincial Plan for the Transfer of Green Certificates for Existing Conventional Hydropower (Trial)” was issued, becoming the first independent plan in China specifically for the transfer of green certificates for existing conventional hydropower. This marks a solid step forward in Yunnan’s green power market-oriented reform. Through this transfer mechanism, Yunnan is expected to transfer 100 million green certificates to local electricity-consuming enterprises free of charge every year, equivalent to 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. 

Li Wen, Director of Kunming Power Exchange Center, stated that the center has been optimizing trading services from three aspects: improving policy rules, optimizing trading organization and upgrading service guarantees. “We have innovatively launched an online power retail trading platform of ‘e-commerce + power packages’, opening up the ‘last mile’ for retail users to participate in the power market,” he said. 

At present, the number of registered power market entities in Yunnan has increased to 360,000, and the province has achieved full online closed-loop operation of 440,000 power retail contracts from signing to settlement. The steady development of green power trading in Yunnan not only helps promote the province’s green and low-carbon transformation but also provides strong support for the national “dual carbon” goal, demonstrating China’s efforts in advancing green energy development.