China's first transmission rights transaction delivering power from China Southern Power Grid to State Grid has been completed, marking two-way market-based trading of transmission capacity across grid operators' service areas.

The trade follows the first-ever transmission rights deal in June, when green power from Anhui moved south via the Yunxiao direct current (DC) line into Guangdong.

In late August, clean power from China Southern Power Grid moved north through the same corridor to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, completing the first transmission rights trade from China Southern Power Grid to State Grid.

China's wind and solar resources are concentrated in the northwest, while load centers sit in the east. Rising renewable capacity has sharply increased demand for cross-region green power delivery, straining transmission channel capacity. Transmission rights trading aims to activate spare channel capacity through market mechanisms, enabling wider optimization of green power allocation.

Seven market participants in Jiangsu took part in the transaction, with 622,000 kWh of green power traded. State Grid Jiangsu Comprehensive Energy Service Co., Ltd. secured physical transmission rights, and after verification and clearing through Beijing and Guangzhou power exchange centers, clean power from China Southern Power Grid was delivered to Schneider Electric's green smart industrial park in Wuxi, with traceable green certificates settled simultaneously.

The Yunxiao DC line, China's first direct current project linking State Grid and China Southern Power Grid, has a rated capacity of 2 GW and began operations in September 2022.

Previously operating under a single capacity pricing mechanism with fixed annual fees of 230 million yuan split equally between Fujian and Guangdong, the corridor faced congestion during peak periods and idle capacity during off-peak hours.

Market-based transmission rights trading on the line began June 1 under a deployment by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.