多用户绿电直连：电量溯源、分配机制与备用费Direct Connection of Green Power for Multiple Users: Power Traceability, Allocation Mechanism, and Backup Fees

Zhuo Qiyan

For a park to truly use green electricity, there is a physics question that cannot be avoided: where does the electricity come from, how is it delivered, and to whom is it supplied. Direct supply to a single user opens a door, but often there are dozens of enterprises in a park sharing one network. Multi-user green electricity direct connection needs to solve precisely how to trace the electricity, allocate responsibility, and divide costs.

The most straightforward way for a park to use green electricity is to lay a dedicated line. But one line can only connect to one user — what about the dozens of enterprises in the park? The multi-user green electricity direct connection policy issued in May 2026 addresses exactly this problem.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Orderly Promoting the Development of Multi-User Green Electricity Direct Connection" (Fagai Energy [2026] No. 688), expanding the scope of green electricity direct connection from a single user to multiple legal entities. The document clarifies that multi-user green electricity direct connection refers to the mode where renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass power generation do not directly feed into the public grid, but supply green electricity to multiple users through dedicated lines and substation facilities, achieving clear traceability and allocation of supplied electricity.

This policy is an extension of Document No. 650 issued in 2025. Document No. 650 broke the traditional large grid power transmission model and allowed renewable energy enterprises to build their own lines to directly supply power to various new and eligible existing single users. After a year of practice, multiple user demands emerged: in a single park with multiple companies, if one company builds a dedicated line and others buy electricity, how to divide the accounts and determine responsibilities requires new rules. Document No. 688 opened the door to industrial parks. The document clearly states that the entire or partial loads of industrial parks, zero-carbon parks, and incremental distribution networks can be connected to renewable energy nearby, forming multi-user direct renewable power projects; users with green power consumption needs, including companies with green power consumption ratio requirements, key energy-consuming and carbon-emitting enterprises, export-oriented enterprises with carbon reduction requirements, and their upstream and downstream enterprises, can all explore utilizing surrounding renewable energy resources.

The core of the rules is three ratios. The project plans the scale of renewable energy installations according to the principle of 'determine the source based on the load,' with the proportion of self-generated and self-used electricity to total available generation not less than 60%, and the proportion to total electricity consumption not less than 30%, rising to no less than 35% before 2030. At the same time, projects are divided into grid-connected and off-grid types. Grid-connected projects are fully integrated into the public power grid, forming clear physical and responsibility interfaces with it, and the power source should be connected to the project's internal system.

These three ratios are essentially a set of constraints in the design algorithm. The 60% lower limit prevents the power source from being built too large and sending a large amount of surplus electricity back to the grid; the 30% lower limit prevents projects from being nominally directly connected but actually used for arbitrage; raising it to 35% before 2030 provides parks with a timeline to gradually increase the proportion of green electricity. Ratios within the limits are free, and those beyond the limits are regulated.

How to allocate electricity is the issue that the park is most concerned about. The difficulty in multi-user projects lies not in the technology, but in measurement and settlement: a dedicated line connects ten enterprises, and when wind and solar output fluctuates, who gets more, who gets less, and according to what rules should it be allocated? The approach in the document is clear traceability, that is, through metering devices and allocation mechanisms, the source and destination of every kilowatt-hour of green electricity are recorded.

How to define responsibility is the issue that the power grid is most concerned about. Grid-connected projects as a whole are connected to the public power grid, which means there is only one interface between the project and the grid, and the internal multi-user relationships are coordinated by the project owner. The project must undertake the corresponding peak-shaving and backup responsibilities and cannot pass all fluctuations onto the main grid. This is also why the document emphasizes 'incentivizing users to explore their own adjustment potential.'

The calculation of costs is key to whether the project can be established. Direct connection to green electricity saves on transmission and distribution fees and government funds and surcharges, but one must build the lines and substation facilities and also bear the system reserve fees. The project's economic viability depends on three variables: line investment, the proportion of self-consumption, and the reserve fee standards of the public power grid. If any of these three variables worsen, the project might not be better than buying green electricity directly from the grid.

The priority support directions have already been specified: computing facilities, emerging industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol, and future industries. These two types of loads share common characteristics—they consume large amounts of electricity, have relatively stable loads, and have clear demand for green electricity. Data centers need to meet clients' green electricity proportion requirements, and hydrogen production projects need green electricity to produce green hydrogen for certification; both are willing to pay a certain premium for green electricity.

For zero-carbon industrial parks, Document No. 688 completes the last piece of the puzzle. Parks have loads, enterprises, and emission reduction targets, but what they lack is a legal channel for green electricity supply. Multi-user direct connections open up this channel, allowing the park to plan renewable energy sources in a unified way, build dedicated lines together, and allocate electricity collectively, thus making the target of reaching a 50% direct green electricity supply achievable.

There are still many challenges in implementation. The first is resources: in eastern parks, the available renewable energy around them is limited, requiring cross-region allocation; the second is land: dedicated lines and substation facilities occupy space, and the internal space in parks is tight; the third is coordination: the multi-user allocation mechanism requires approval from all enterprises, and the withdrawal of any single enterprise could affect project boundaries; the fourth is regulation: measures are needed to prevent enterprises from using direct green electricity connections to circumvent electricity pricing policies.

From pilot cases, faster progress occurs in two types of projects: one is newly built parks, where power sources, dedicated lines, and loads are designed together in the planning stage; the other is export-oriented parks, where enterprises have clear carbon footprint requirements and are willing to pay a premium for green electricity. Slower progress is seen in the renovation of older parks, where grid structures are complex, enterprise demands are scattered, and coordination costs are high.

The significance of this policy goes beyond simply connecting with more companies. It transforms green electricity from a 'commodity in the power grid' into a 'commodity that can be traded point-to-point,' allowing the generation side and the consumption side to meet directly. For renewable energy, this means there is an additional channel for utilization that does not rely on full grid purchases; for users, it means the source of green electricity can be traced back to specific wind turbines and components.

For park managers, the next task is to work out the arithmetic in detail: total electricity consumption of the park, how much renewable energy can be developed, whether the self-consumption ratio can reach 60%, whether green electricity can account for 30% of total electricity use, and how to allocate standby fees. Only by calculating these five accounts clearly can the project have sufficient depth for feasibility research.

Direct connection of green electricity is not a panacea. It addresses the source and traceability of green electricity, but it cannot solve industrial emissions, logistics emissions, or heating demands of the park. To truly build a zero-carbon park, efforts must also be made simultaneously in electrification, hydrogen substitution, waste heat utilization, and carbon sinks. Direct connection is a starting point, not the end point.

From Document No. 650 to No. 688, within one year, the policy moved from single-user to multi-user. This pace indicates that the practice of direct green power connection is advancing faster than the regulations. What we need to look at next is whether the first batch of multi-user projects can be connected to the grid before 2027, and whether the settlement statements after grid connection can be accounted for by both the parks and the enterprises.

The design of the electricity allocation mechanism is the core difficulty of such projects. Common approaches include allocation according to equity share, according to electricity consumption, or according to contractual agreements. When wind and solar output fluctuates, whether the allocation ratio adjusts accordingly, who bears the deviation, and the length of the settlement cycle all need to be clearly specified in the project agreement; otherwise, disputes may arise after a year of operation.

The attitude of the power grid is also changing. In the early days, direct green power connection was seen as 'bypassing the grid.' With policies clarifying that projects must undertake peak regulation and backup responsibilities and pay corresponding fees, the grid has shifted from passive acceptance to participating in rule design. Grid-connected projects have clear physical interfaces and defined dispatch relationships, which is the basis for cooperation between both parties.

[Information and data in the text are sourced from: National Development and Reform Commission, National Energy Administration Document No. 688 [2026] of Energy Development and Reform, Document No. 650 [2025] of Energy Development and Reform, Response of the National Energy Administration to Proposal No. 5991 of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, publicly available information on the first batch of national-level zero-carbon park construction lists]

[Research support institutions: Energy and Dual-Carbon Research Center, China Industrial Newspaper | China Energy Industry Development Network]

Data sources referenced in this article: National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration Document No. 688 [2026] of Energy Development and Reform, Document No. 650 [2025] of Energy Development and Reform, Response of the National Energy Administration to Proposal No. 5991 of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, the first batch of national-level zero-carbon park construction lists