Three state-owned enterprises have established a new company with 5 billion yuan in capital, marking the beginning of a massive energy realignment.

Source: China International News Network

 

Abstract:

The combination of Shaanxi state‑owned assets, Anhui state‑owned assets, and central state‑owned energy enterprises is rare—spanning regions, bridging central SOEs and local state‑owned entities, and encompassing both the power and oil sectors. Clearly, this arrangement is not driven by a run‑of‑the‑mill commercial venture.

 

Recently, an energy company with a registered capital of RMB 5 billion was established in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province.

 

On the surface, it appears to be a diversified energy company with operations spanning power generation, transmission, energy storage, and carbon reduction; in reality, its shareholders are anything but ordinary.

 

This company, named Shaanxi-Shaan’an Energy, is jointly funded by three central state-owned enterprises—Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum, China Datang Corporation, and Anhui Wanneng Group—with nearly equal shareholdings: 34%, 34%, and 32%, respectively, effectively dividing the equity almost equally.

 

 

Such a balanced equity structure is uncommon in the energy sector. There is no single controlling shareholder, nor does it follow the traditional model where “the party that provides the resources calls the shots.”

 

One is owned by Shaanxi state capital, another by Anhui state capital, and the third is a central state‑owned enterprise. Such a cross‑regional, cross‑state‑owned‑enterprise‑and‑local‑state‑asset‑management‑agency, and cross‑power‑and‑oil‑company consortium is quite rare—clearly, this is no ordinary business venture. , but rather a nationwide energy realignment.

 

The joint objective of these three parties is a power transmission corridor spanning Northwest and East China—the Shanbei–Anhui Ultra-High-Voltage Transmission Project, commonly referred to as “Shanxi Power Entering Anhui.”

 

The project broke ground in March 2024, with its starting point in Yan’an, Shaanxi, passing through Henan and terminating in Hefei, Anhui. It is a super‑scale undertaking under the national “14th Five-Year Plan” for power development and another critical transmission corridor within the “West-to-East Power Transmission” initiative.

 

The entire line spans approximately 1,069 kilometers and boasts a total investment exceeding RMB 20 billion. Once commissioned, it will deliver more than 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to the East China region, with over half sourced from wind and solar power in northern Shaanxi—equivalent to reducing coal consumption by roughly 14 million tons per year.

 

Meanwhile, the newly established Shaanxi–Anhui Energy Company serves as a key supporting enterprise for the “Shaanxi Power to Anhui” project, tasked with delivering electricity from Shaanxi to Anhui. At the same time, this also highlights the strategic choices made by local authorities in the latest round of energy transition.

 

 

For Shaanxi, this is not merely participation in a power‑transmission project; it offers a dual benefit, enabling local state‑owned enterprises to undergo transformation while also addressing the integration of local renewable energy.

 

As a well-established energy company founded in 1905, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum has long relied on traditional resources such as oil, gas, and coal as its core strengths, making it a quintessential resource‑based enterprise. By 2025, Yanchang Petroleum’s coal production is projected to reach 40.4 million tons, positioning it as one of the key energy producers within Shaanxi Province.

 

However, the challenge is that, against the backdrop of the “dual carbon” goals and the energy transition, the room for growth driven solely by upstream fossil‑energy extraction is steadily shrinking. Consequently, securing green electricity resources and finding ways to sell them have become key components of Yanchang Petroleum’s new strategic agenda.

 

The “Shaanxi Power to Anhui” project provides a clear market outlet and a viable business model. The project includes the construction of four 1-million-kilowatt coal-fired power units, 11 million kilowatts of new energy capacity, and 2.2 million kilowatts of 2-hour electrochemical energy storage. Upon completion, the share of renewable energy in the total electricity output will be no less than 50%.

 

Accordingly, Changqing Petroleum has chosen to engage deeply through a joint venture—not merely as a participant in a transmission project, but as a strategic entry point into the new‑energy power system.

 

On the one hand, Shaanbei’s wind and solar resources can be transmitted via stable inter‑provincial transmission lines into long‑term, dispatchable renewable electricity, thereby fostering new sources of growth. On the other hand, through collaboration with state‑owned power utilities and major electricity‑consuming provinces, Shaanbei can gradually address its capacity gaps in renewable generation, power operations, and market‑based trading.

 

For a century-old oil and gas company, this represents a relatively prudent path of transformation—shifting from “selling resources” to “selling electricity and services,” thereby upgrading both its energy portfolio and its business model.

 

More importantly, Shaanxi Province, where Changqing Oil is located, boasts abundant wind and solar resources, with the installed capacity of new energy expanding rapidly. However, local consumption capacity remains limited, and the pressure of curtailed wind and solar power persists, thereby providing an even stronger impetus for further development.

 

 

For Anhui, participating in the establishment of Shaanxi–Anhui Energy is by no means a routine outbound investment; rather, it represents a long-term power‑supply strategy.

 

Anhui Wanneng Group has three major shareholders: Anhui Provincial Energy Group Co., Ltd., which holds a 68.75% stake and is the controlling shareholder; and two private‑sector investors—Sungrow Power Supply and Gotion High‑Tech. One specializes in photovoltaics, while the other focuses on batteries.

 

This combination of “local state-owned capital plus a leading new‑energy player” leverages the former’s resource‑integration capabilities and credibility, while drawing on the latter’s proven expertise in R&D and industrial implementation. Clearly, it is targeting Shaanxi’s new‑energy market, poised to make a major push.

 

The essence of this step is not merely “purchasing electricity,” but rather “participating in power generation,” thereby taking control of the electricity supply into one’s own hands.

 

On the surface, buying electricity directly seems more convenient and flexible. But in reality, when supply and demand tighten, “buying electricity” often fails first. When power shortages or emergencies arise, even local grids struggle to ensure reliability, let alone transmit power to other regions.

 

Anhui is one of the regions experiencing rapid electricity demand growth and a pronounced supply shortfall. In 2024, the province’s total electricity consumption reached 359.8 billion kilowatt-hours, with a growth rate among the highest nationwide, while its power supply‑demand gap stood at 10 million kilowatts and continues to widen year by year. The pressure on ensuring reliable power supply is particularly acute during the summer and winter months.

 

In the minds of most people, Anhui is a major energy-producing province. More than two decades ago, it sought to leverage its coal resources to build a “Three Gorges of thermal power” and vigorously promoted the “small‑scale west‑to‑east power transmission” initiative, aiming to establish a regional power‑supply hub for Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. So how has the power shortfall grown so substantial?

 

In fact, Anhui’s coal‑resource development has long been nearing its capacity ceiling; the province’s own production falls short, external procurement is fraught with difficulties, and ensuring a stable supply of thermal power poses significant challenges. As for other energy sources, Anhui started late in developing natural gas, with a single supply source and limited volumes, constraining the scale of its growth. Meanwhile, renewable energy faces inherent limitations: hydropower development is virtually exhausted, and wind and solar resources are constrained by local conditions, making it difficult to establish a reliable electricity‑generation backbone.

 

At the same time, electricity demand in Anhui is surging. The expansion of manufacturing, the implementation of major projects, and the concentrated development of industries such as new-energy vehicles, semiconductors, and advanced materials all translate into substantial electricity consumption. With a flurry of large-scale projects coming online and a steady influx of population, electricity demand has naturally risen in tandem.

 

With supply falling short and demand surging, such a “gap” must be bridged through external imports. The Shaanxi–Anhui Power Transmission Project is Anhui’s first ultra‑high‑voltage direct current line that achieves full integration of a high share of renewable energy, serving as a robust external support.

 

The so‑called “full‑capacity consumption” means that all the electricity generated by this power project is consumed within Anhui Province, effectively keeping electricity demand firmly under local control.

 

At this juncture, the three parties have jointly established a new company, signaling that the “Shaanxi Power to Anhui” project has entered a new phase. According to reports, as of December 24, 2025, the Shaanxi section of the “Shaanxi Power to Anhui” project has been fully completed and connected. By June of this year, it will be ready for commercial operation.

 

The successful implementation of this mega‑project appears to send a new signal for interprovincial and interregional energy cooperation.

 

It breaks away from the traditional localized approach, integrating the resource side with the market side. Gone is the simplistic “you generate, I buy”; instead, through joint investment and collaborative development, power generation, transmission, and consumption are brought together under a unified framework.

 

This has also brought about a marked shift in the role of local state-owned enterprises. For instance, Anhui Wanneng Group is no longer merely an electricity consumer; it now actively participates in infrastructure development.

 

Under the “central state-owned enterprise + private enterprise + local state-owned enterprise” model, an industrial closed loop integrating “capital + technology + application scenarios” is being progressively established. Moreover, this deep cross‑provincial and cross‑regional collaboration constitutes a vital component of the new‑type power system.

 

In October 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Measures for the Management of Emergency Power Dispatch Across Provinces and Grids, which explicitly stipulates that, in the event of safety risks or imbalances between power supply and demand, resource allocation and price formation shall be prioritized through market-based mechanisms such as inter‑provincial and inter‑grid medium‑ and long‑term electricity trading and spot market transactions.

 

It is foreseeable that, as the share of new energy continues to rise, similar inter‑provincial collaborations will become the norm. Through ultra‑high‑voltage transmission, clean energy sources such as wind and hydropower—resources that cannot be locally consumed—will be bundled and delivered across the country, enabling a nationwide energy reallocation.

 

At this juncture, the underlying logic of new‑energy development may also shift. By fostering cross‑regional coordination and multi‑stakeholder collaboration, it will reallocate resources, technologies, and demand.

 

This “super‑large‑scale transfer” model both enhances the integration capacity of new energy sources and strengthens the security and resilience of the power system.

 

Perhaps it is precisely through such practices that the new‑energy industry can break free from its reliance on subsidies and inefficient internal competition, ushering in a phase of more sustainable and predictable growth.