Yunnan is an important green energy base in China. In addition to its coal resources, it boasts abundant renewable resources such as hydropower, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy, offering favorable development conditions and promising prospects. Domestically, Yunnan shares borders with Guizhou and Guangxi to the east, Sichuan to the north, and Tibet to the northwest, providing a solid foundation for “Tibetan power transmission to Yunnan” and the west-to-east power transmission initiative. Internationally, Yunnan is interconnected with Southeast Asia and serves as a key energy hub. Thanks to its uniquely advantageous resource endowments, Yunnan is well positioned to build a new type of power system, making it the focal point and center of gravity for the development and advancement of such systems.

　　 Main Characteristics of the Yunnan Power System

　　Abundant clean energy resources. By the end of 2020, Yunnan Province’s total installed power generation capacity had reached 103.4028 million kilowatts, with renewable energy accounting for 85.39% of that total—truly making it a major province in green energy generation. Thanks to its unique resource endowment, Yunnan ranks second nationwide in hydropower potential, while also boasting abundant solar energy resources, with most areas of the province enjoying an average annual sunshine duration of 2,100–2,300 hours. In recent years, Yunnan has consistently ranked first among all provinces in terms of wind power utilization hours, with total wind energy reserves reaching 123 million kilowatts. The province’s biomass energy industry is beginning to take shape, with the potential to generate an annual output of 1 million tons of fuel ethanol and 270,000 tons of biodiesel. In addition, Yunnan is rich in geothermal energy and possesses significant power generation potential.

　　The most complex grid structure. The Yunnan Power Grid is the first provincial-level asynchronous interconnection system in China, serving as a major sending-end grid that incorporates 10 ultra-high‑voltage DC transmission lines and features multiple voltage levels operating in tandem within its internal network. It exhibits a grid configuration characterized by “parallel AC and DC operation within the province, long‑distance, high‑capacity DC transmission across multiple circuits domestically, and power exchange with multiple international directions.” Today, it ranks among the world’s most advanced, most complex in terms of operational characteristics, and greenest in terms of power generation—while the expansion of the “Tibetan Power to Yunnan” initiative and the increase in outbound transmission channels will further complicate the structure of the Yunnan Power Grid.

　　The power supply serves three distinct markets: the Yunnan grid supplies electricity to both intra-provincial, inter-provincial, and international markets. In 2020, Yunnan’s total electricity consumption reached 202.513 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 11.76% year-on-year, marking the best performance in nearly eight years. Throughout the year, the volume of power transmitted from west to east totaled 145.79 billion kilowatt-hours, up 0.43% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound power transmission reached 2.57 billion kilowatt-hours, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.7%. Yunnan’s green, clean energy is effectively contributing to the achievement of the “dual carbon” goals through west-to-east power transmission and cross-border power supply.

　　 Challenges Facing the Development of a New Power System in Yunnan

　　Clean energy accounts for a high share. At present, clean energy makes up more than 85% of Yunnan’s energy mix, and this proportion is expected to increase further in the future. Because wind and solar power are intermittent, fluctuating, and inherently uncertain, and because hydropower also faces the challenge of insufficient generation during dry periods, these sources—with their limited controllability—pose significant challenges to the stable and secure operation of the power system.

　　Asynchronous power grids that integrate large-scale new energy sources have low rotational inertia. Unlike synchronous operation, which provides robust support—since the frequency remains consistent across the entire grid—Yunnan’s power grid operates in an asynchronous mode. Particularly after large-scale new energy sources are integrated into the grid, the system’s rotational inertia will further decrease, leading to significant frequency fluctuations and potentially even frequency instability, thereby posing tremendous challenges to the grid’s safety and stability.

　　A high proportion of electricity is transmitted from west to east. In 2020, the amount of electricity transmitted from western Yunnan to eastern regions nearly reached 50% of the province’s total electricity consumption. As the development and construction of a new power system progress, the scale of power transmission will increase year by year. Ensuring the efficient and reliable outbound delivery of large volumes of green energy poses a significant challenge, while simultaneously meeting Yunnan’s rapidly growing electricity demand also presents considerable challenges.

　　A single large load accounts for a high proportion. In Yunnan, industries such as hydropower‑based silicon and hydropower‑based aluminum hold a significant share; the load of individual aluminum and silicon plants typically exceeds the megawatt level, placing extremely high demands on power supply reliability. As high‑energy‑consumption loads, they not only increase the reactive power demand of the power system but also introduce issues such as harmonics and voltage fluctuations into the grid.

　　The risk level of accidents caused by single-component failures is high. The Yunnan power grid features a complex structure, long transmission distances, and a massive number of power equipment components. A failure in any single component can trigger cascading faults due to the combined effects of various factors, such as improper or delayed control measures, structural inadequacies, or maloperation or拒operation of relay protection devices, posing significant challenges with high accident risk levels.

　　Power electronic devices account for a high proportion of the grid. The large-scale integration of wind power, photovoltaic systems, and distributed loads has increased the degree of power electronics in the power grid. On the one hand, this reduces the system’s rotational inertia; on the other hand, it can have adverse effects on power quality. At the same time, the characteristics of power electronic systems differ significantly from those of traditional power grids, allowing for bidirectional power flow, which renders classic protection and control methods no longer applicable. Ensuring the safe, stable, and efficient operation of new power systems thus presents enormous challenges.

　　Natural disasters occur with alarming frequency. In Yunnan, there is a saying that “no year goes by without some kind of disaster.” Earthquakes, lightning strikes, hailstorms, frost damage, and the activities of wild animals can all cause severe damage to power equipment. Moreover, Yunnan’s unique and extreme geographical conditions pose significant challenges to equipment operation and maintenance.

　　 Focus Areas for Building a New Power System in Yunnan

　　Yunnan Power Grid Company should firmly seize important strategic opportunities, fully leverage its resource and locational advantages, focus on breakthroughs in key technologies, and lead the development of a new power system.

　　Rational planning and layout. We will steadfastly pursue the continuous, efficient development and utilization of green, clean energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower, promote the coordinated and optimized development of diverse clean energy types, build green economic provinces and regions, and advance efforts to establish a world‑class “green energy” brand. By taking the lead in pilot programs in Yunnan and implementing a series of demonstration projects for the construction of new power systems, we will support the development and advancement of new power systems nationwide and contribute to the nation’s “dual carbon” goals.

　　Proactive support capabilities. With the large-scale integration of new energy sources, the controllability and adjustability of various power sources in the grid have declined rapidly, necessitating the exploration of new technologies and strategies to provide proactive support for the stable operation of the grid. Building on new energy regulation technologies and the deployment of energy storage, exploring demand-side response control technologies and control strategies is of great significance for the grid’s proactive support.

　　Flexible control resources. Alongside power sources, the grid, and load, energy storage has emerged as the fourth indispensable component of a new type of power system. A diverse array of energy storage devices and systems spanning “sources, grids, and loads” is giving rise to new models for balancing electricity supply and demand. Meanwhile, flexible resources such as electric vehicles and distributed power sources can play an effective role in controlling and regulating grid voltage, frequency, and emergency response. Through market‑based operating mechanisms, these flexible resources can be encouraged to actively participate in grid operations.

　　The stable operation of the power grid. In light of Yunnan’s complex grid structure, extreme operating conditions, and diverse types of power sources, we are exploring efficient, coordinated operation and control technologies that integrate “source–grid–load–storage,” fully leveraging the proactive regulation capabilities of various flexible resources. Driven by data, we are streamlining perception, analysis, decision‑making, and business processes across all stakeholders in the power grid, enabling rapid fault detection, protection and control, as well as operations, maintenance, and repair, thereby ensuring the system’s stable operation.

　　Ensuring the security of the power grid. By strengthening the system’s flexible regulation capabilities, enhancing demand-side response, accelerating grid upgrades and renovations, and leveraging modern communication technologies, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence, we can digitize, intelligently optimize, and internetize traditional physical power systems. This will equip the power grid with exceptional sensing capabilities, intelligent decision‑making abilities, and rapid execution capabilities, thereby safeguarding grid security.

　　Reliable power supply. Ensure a dependable power supply for the three markets, further strengthen our role as the main force in transmitting electricity from west to east and as a strategic hub for the Belt and Road Initiative. Adhere to a clean energy–centered, power‑dominant approach, developing solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy tailored to local conditions—while meeting the province’s energy needs, facilitating west-to-east power transmission and the export of Yunnan’s hydropower, and rapidly advancing the development and construction of Yunnan’s new power system to fulfill the people’s aspirations for a better life.