China is stepping up efforts to integrate private capital into its strategic energy infrastructure, creating a robust ecosystem for innovation that will power the nation's green transition and its booming digital economy.

The National Energy Administration recently announced plans to better formulate investment guidelines for private enterprises in major energy projects, including hydropower and oil and gas pipelines. This push aligns with the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for the energy sector, which aims to roll out landmark projects across new energy bases, power grids and technological initiatives.

Private companies have already become a vital force in energy technology innovation. In 2025, all 10 approved nuclear power units introduced private capital, with private shareholding reaching up to 20 percent.

Furthermore, private firms account for 60 percent of newly approved direct green power projects, 45 percent of the nation's 535 virtual power plants, and operate nine of the country's top 10 electric vehicle charging networks.

The success of this mixed-ownership model was recently cemented by the start of commercial operations at Unit 1 of the San'ao Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang province. Managed by China General Nuclear Power Group, the region's first Hualong One reactor marks a historic watershed as the country's first privately backed nuclear power project.

Geely Technology Group holds a 2 percent stake in the mega-project, which has collaborated with approximately 2,000 private enterprises since its inception. This sweeping partnership localized 24 key pieces of core equipment for the first time, including nuclear-grade pressure and temperature switches, demonstrating the fierce competitiveness of China's domestic supply chain, said its operator CGN.

The milestone unit is expected to generate over 9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the residential demands of more than 1 million people. Crucially, it provides the zero-carbon baseload power necessary to sustain the Yangtze River Delta's energy-intensive data centers.

"The region has the nation's most vigorous demand for computing power and the most complete industrial supply chain, creating an urgent, sustained need for stable, clean and efficient baseload electricity," said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

As the region accelerates its shift toward an artificial intelligence-driven economy, intermittent renewables like wind and solar alone cannot sustain the immense, 24/7 power requirements of massive data centers, experts noted.

The San'ao project breaks the traditional model of exclusive State investment in nuclear power, Lin added. It proves that mixed-ownership models can inject new financial vitality into strategic infrastructure while allowing private capital to share in the long-term dividends of the green transition.

Energy investment maintained robust growth in the first quarter, with private enterprises deepening their participation in key national energy research initiatives, said Xing Yiteng, deputy director-general of the department of development and planning at the NEA.

To sustain this momentum, the NEA is accelerating the formulation of standard rules for emerging fields, such as computing power and electricity synergy, to enhance the participation of private enterprises in setting industry standards. Market supervision will also be strengthened in sectors like photovoltaics to guide companies toward fair and orderly competition.

Source: By ZHENG XIN, chinadaily.com, Jun. 03, 2026

【https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202606/03/WS6a1f8587a310d6866eb4c2a1.html】