China Sets 2030 Power Goals in 15th Five-Year Plan for Grid Strategy

China's National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration jointly issued the '15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Power System' on August 3. The roadmap establishes core 2030 targets, including raising non-fossil electricity generation to 50 percent, accommodating over 2.8 billion kilowatts of renewable energy, and building out EV charging infrastructure to support over 110 million electric vehicles.

The plan establishes the investment and policy timeline for China's power sector over the next five years. By combining ambitious renewable absorption targets with nuclear, hydro, and coal-flexibility retrofits, the directive directly shapes capital allocation, infrastructure spending, and technology deployment across energy and electric vehicle supply chains.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have jointly issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Power System," setting out strategic directives and major projects for the country's power grid transformation through 2030, Chinese state media reported on August 3. The blueprint outlines concrete measures across thirteen operational areas aimed at creating a clean, safe, efficient, and intelligent power system to support economic development and national climate goals. According to the official announcement, China aims to initially complete its new power system by 2030, at which point non-fossil sources are projected to produce 50 percent of total electricity generation. The plan establishes a framework to accommodate more than 2.8 billion kilowatts of wind and solar capacity while maintaining a national renewable energy utilization rate around 90 percent. Local authorities will determine differentiated utilization targets based on regional grid infrastructure, load growth, and flexibility. Additionally, the plan directs the expansion of EV charging infrastructure to support more than 110 million electric vehicles. To strengthen baseline supply and system flexibility, the policy sets 2030 targets of roughly 410 million kilowatts for conventional hydropower and approximately 110 million kilowatts for nuclear power. Major hydropower developments will focus on key river basins including the upper Jinsha, upper Lancang, middle Yalong, and Dadu rivers, alongside downstream projects on the Yarlung Zangbo River. Nuclear power expansion will emphasize coastal bases, advanced reactor technology, and cost reductions for small modular reactors. Meanwhile, existing coal-fired units will undergo efficiency and wide-load retrofits—limiting low-load coal consumption increases to 25 percent—and integrate directly with renewable generation for coordinated transmission. The regulatory announcement spurred immediate movement on domestic stock exchanges on August 3. Chinese energy and nuclear engineering equities registered sharp gains, with several power utilities and nuclear technology suppliers hitting daily price limits, according to domestic financial outlets including Securities Times.