STATE OF THE MARKET 2018 : CORPORATE RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT IN CHINA

The document examines the evolving landscape of corporate renewable energy procurement in China, highlighting a shift from government-led feed-in-tariffs (FiT) toward a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and a national Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market. While on-site solar and direct investments are currently the most viable paths for corporations, the report notes that large-scale transaction mechanisms remain limited and dependent on provincial-level implementation. It identifies key drivers for corporate adoption, such as supply chain sustainability and market leadership, and details the barriers to interprovincial and intraprovincial direct power purchase agreements.

• China is transitioning its renewable energy support from a feed-in-tariff (FiT) system to a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), with the goal of reaching grid parity. This shift includes reducing FiT levels and limiting new projects to encourage more efficient technology.
• A national Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market is being established to track RPS compliance and enable more active market transactions for renewable energy across all provinces.
• Corporate procurement of renewable energy is primarily driven by on-site installations, though motivations include a desire to be a market leader and the need to support sustainable supply chains.
• Several procurement mechanisms are currently available, but their scalability varies. Green Electricity Certificates (GECs) are easy to access but expensive; direct investment is available but requires significant capital; and on-site solar is common but limited by a 10 GW national quota reached in 2018.
• Direct power purchase agreements (DPP) are limited by geography. Intraprovincial deals occur mainly in provinces with high curtailment or rich hydro resources, while the first interprovincial transaction occurred in January 2018 between a company in Shandong and a developer in Shanxi.
• National wind curtailment rates improved from 17% in 2016 to 12% in 2017, aided by better system operations, a spot market for curtailed energy, and a piloted ancillary market.

APA

Hansen, L., Porter, M., Song, J., Qiao, T., & Zhu, C. (2018). STATE OF THE MARKET 2018 : CORPORATE RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT IN CHINA. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/12/rmi-brc-china-state-of-the-market-2018.pdf

Chicago

Hansen, Lena, Mark Porter, Jiayin Song, Tian Qiao, and Caroline Zhu. STATE OF THE MARKET 2018 : CORPORATE RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT IN CHINA. RMI, 2018. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/12/rmi-brc-china-state-of-the-market-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hansen |first1=Lena |last2=Porter |first2=Mark |last3=Song |first3=Jiayin |last4=Qiao |first4=Tian |last5=Zhu |first5=Caroline |title=STATE OF THE MARKET 2018 : CORPORATE RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT IN CHINA |publisher=RMI |date=October 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/12/rmi-brc-china-state-of-the-market-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hansen2018state, author = {Hansen, Lena and Porter, Mark and Song, Jiayin and Qiao, Tian and Zhu, Caroline}, title = {{STATE OF THE MARKET 2018 : CORPORATE RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT IN CHINA}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/12/rmi-brc-china-state-of-the-market-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }