Green Power Trading for Foreign-Invested Enterprises: Power Purchase Agreement Routes, the Renewable Energy Certificate Question, and What a Zero-Carbon Factory Claim Needs
- On 22 October 2026 an official of the Ministry of Commerce’s foreign investment administration said the ministry would support foreign-invested enterprises in participating in renewable energy trading on equal terms — a statement of direction, not a new set of trading rules.
2026 年 10 月 22 日，商务部外国投资管理司负责人表示将支持外资企业平等参与可再生能源交易——这是方向性表态，不是新的交易规则。
- The same briefing disclosed that inbound investment in the energy-saving, environmental-protection and clean-production sector grew 11.1 per cent year on year in the first nine months of 2026, and that several foreign-invested Zero-Carbon Factory projects have been commissioned using green electricity throughout.
同场发布会披露，2026 年 1—9 月节能环保清洁产业引资同比增长 11.1%，一批外资零碳工厂相继落地，且全部使用绿色电力。
- Nothing in the statement changes how a transaction is executed: purchases still run through the electricity trading institutions and local energy authorities under the medium- and long-term market rules, the green power trading pilot launched in 2021, and the certificate system.
该表态不改变交易执行方式：采购仍按电力中长期交易规则、2021 年启动的绿电交易试点以及绿证制度，通过电力交易机构与地方能源主管部门办理。
- Three routes exist and they are not interchangeable: a Power Purchase Agreement or monthly listing through a trading centre, purchase of certificates separately from physical power, and self-generation or distributed self-consumption.
存在三条路径且不可互换：通过交易中心的长期购电协议或月度挂牌交易、与物理电量分离的绿证购买、以及自建或分布式自用。
- The double-counting risk is the one that survives audit: buying a certificate does not mean buying green power, and a company that claims the same megawatt-hour in its electricity reporting and again in its certificate reporting will fail review.
双重计算是审计中最容易被抓的问题：买证不等于买绿电，把同一兆瓦时既计入用电报告又计入绿证报告，复核时无法通过。
- For exports, green procurement is worth only what the receiving regime will accept, so the evidence chain matters as much as the purchase itself.
对出口而言，绿色采购的价值取决于接收方是否认可，因此凭证链的重要性不亚于采购本身。
- Three contract terms deserve scrutiny before signature: the annual deviation assessment, curve matching against actual load, and mark-ups where power is passed through a landlord or park operator.
签约前应重点审查三项条款：年度偏差考核、与实际负荷的曲线匹配、以及经由业主或园区转供时的加价。
Green Power Trading for Foreign-Invested Enterprises: Power Purchase Agreement Routes, the Renewable Energy Certificate Question, and What a Zero-Carbon Factory Claim Needs | 外资企业平等参与绿电交易：三条采购路径、绿证与绿电的双重计算，以及零碳工厂声明需要什么
Overview
At a State Council Information Office briefing on 22 October 2026, the official heading the foreign investment administration at the Ministry of Commerce said the ministry would support foreign-invested enterprises in participating in renewable energy trading on equal terms, alongside continued work on cross-border data flows. The same briefing disclosed that inbound investment in the energy-saving, environmental-protection and clean-production sector rose 11.1 per cent year on year in the first nine months of 2026, and that several foreign-invested zero-carbon factories have been commissioned, all running entirely on green electricity.
The two halves belong together. The numbers describe what has happened: foreign capital is putting money into clean production in China, and some of those plants are designed around renewable electricity from the day they switch on. The statement describes an intention about the next stage — that a foreign-invested user should not face a different door when it goes to buy that electricity.
What the statement is not is a rule. It creates no trading product, quota, preferential price or dedicated channel. Execution continues under the framework in force: the basic rules for medium- and long-term electricity trading, the pilot launched in 2021, the certificate system extended to full coverage of renewable generation in 2023, and the consumption responsibility weight system. A company that reads the sentence as a new entitlement will look for a form that does not exist.
What the statement does, and does not, do
It is a statement about equal treatment. The word used is “equal participation” (平等参与). For a manufacturer once told that a green power product was open to domestic users but not straightforwardly to it, this signals how such cases should be handled — to the executing bodies as much as to the market.
It confirms that no additional eligibility test is intended for foreign-invested users. That matters because green power products are often allocated through annual or monthly arrangements in which eligibility is settled locally. A statement at this level is useful in a conversation with a trading centre or a local energy authority; it is not a document those bodies must cite.
It does not create a purchase obligation, a renewable ratio for foreign-invested firms, or a new certificate category; companies should not infer a deadline. The consumption responsibility weight system, which does create obligations, is a separate instrument with its own addressees and measures.
No dedicated foreign-invested green power market has been announced.
Three routes, and how they differ
Route one: trading. A user buys electricity with renewable attributes attached through a trading centre, either as a longer-term agreement structured as a Power Purchase Agreement or through a monthly listing. It is the only route in which the attribute travels with the physical energy, and it produces the cleanest evidence: a trade record, a settlement statement and a certificate for the same volume.
Route two: certificates. A user buys renewable energy certificates separately from physical power — the unbundled model. It is faster, more liquid and available in small volumes, which suits a site whose load is unpredictable or whose meter the landlord controls. The trade-off is evidential: a certificate proves an attribute was bought, not that the electrons at that site came from a wind farm.
Route three: self-generation or distributed self-consumption. A factory with roof space or land installs capacity and consumes the output. This is the strongest claim, because generation and consumption coincide physically. It is also the route with the most friction: grid connection approval, limits on selling surplus power to a third party at the same site, and capital committed for years rather than for a contract term.
The double-counting problem
The failure that recurs in audit is arithmetic, not contractual. A company buys certificates for a volume, reports that volume as renewable in its electricity disclosure, and then also reports the certificates as an instrument holding — the same megawatt-hour in two ledgers.
The discipline is to decide, once, which ledger the attribute lives in. If the claim is made on a consumption basis, the certificate is retired against that consumption and does not reappear as an asset; if it is held as an instrument, it cannot simultaneously support a consumption claim. Retirement tracking exists for this reason, and a company running its own spreadsheet alongside it will eventually produce two numbers that do not reconcile.
The evidence chain for exports
For a manufacturer exporting to Europe, or supplying a brand committed to 100 per cent renewable electricity, procurement is only half the exercise; the other half is whether the receiving regime accepts the data.
Under the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, importers must account for the embedded emissions of covered goods, and the question for a Chinese plant is whether actual data can displace default values. That depends on the rules for those goods and on the emissions scope — direct emissions from production, and indirect emissions from purchased electricity where counted. Green procurement affects the indirect side, and only as far as the rules permit an actual-data claim. That is a reason to keep records in the shape the receiving regime asks for, not a reason to delay.
Brand programmes impose their own tests. A 100 per cent renewable electricity commitment is normally assessed on market boundary and vintage: the certificate must come from the same market as the consumption, and from a matching generation period. The cheapest certificates available globally will not count, however defensible the spend looks.
Three contract terms to read closely
Annual deviation assessment. Contracts typically test whether actual consumption matched the contracted volume, with a tolerance band and a charge for the excess. For a plant ramping production or running seasonal campaigns, a band set for a steady-state factory produces a charge in year one. Model the load before agreeing the band, and negotiate the treatment of a shutdown in advance.
Curve matching. A contract may specify a curve rather than a flat volume. Where the contracted curve diverges from the site’s actual profile, the difference settles at spot or penalty prices, and the attribute may not attach to the diverging volume. Flat products are simpler; shaped products are cheaper only if the shape is right.
Pass-through mark-ups. Where the user is a tenant and the landlord buys wholesale and resells, the attribute can be marked up, diluted or lost. The lease and the energy supply agreement must state the volume passed through, the transfer mechanism and the price formula, or the tenant pays a premium for a claim it cannot substantiate.
Procurement checklist
Verify the account number and registered user name first; a mismatch between contracting entity and account holder blocks settlement. Confirm consumption history at monthly granularity, since contract shape and deviation band depend on it. Confirm the declaration timetable with the trading centre — a missed window may fall after the reporting year closes.
Set the retirement policy before the first purchase and write down which ledger the attribute sits in; keep the trade record, settlement statement and retirement certificate together for the same volume. Maintain an internal carbon ledger with one line per site per month: the audit question is never whether green power was bought, but whether the volume, the instrument and the retirement can be shown for that site in that year.
Outlook
The direction is clear enough: renewable electricity is being treated as a normal input rather than a special concession, and the investment data suggest some foreign-invested plants already buy it that way. What has not changed is the machinery — trading happens in the market that exists, certificates are retired in the system that exists, and obligations arise from the instruments that create them. The companies that benefit most will treat the statement as a reason to start now, using available routes, rather than to wait for a channel that has not been announced.
Related reading
- Green power procurement and carbon compliance for foreign firms (No. 228) — the trading and certificate architecture in detail.
- Renewable energy consumption responsibility weight mandates (No. 371) — the obligation side, including the implementing measures.
Sources
- State Council Information Office, press conference on high-quality commerce development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (22 October 2026): https://www.scio.gov.cn/live/2026/39833/index.html
- Ministry of Commerce, policy releases and foreign investment data: https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/
- National Development and Reform Commission: https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/
- National Energy Administration, green power trading and certificate policy: https://www.nea.gov.cn/
- The State Council, policy library: https://www.gov.cn/
外资企业平等参与绿电交易：三条采购路径、绿证与绿电的双重计算，以及零碳工厂声明需要什么
概述
2026 年 10 月 22 日，在国务院新闻办公室举行的一场发布会上，商务部外国投资管理司负责人表示，将做好支持外资企业平等参与可再生能源交易、持续提升数据跨境流动便利化水平等工作。同场发布会披露：2026 年 1—9 月，节能环保清洁产业引资同比增长 11.1%；一批外资零碳工厂相继落地，且全部使用绿色电力。
这两半内容本应放在一起读。数据描述已经发生的事：外资正在把钱投进中国的清洁生产环节，其中一些工厂从投产第一天起就围绕可再生能源电力设计。表态描述下一阶段的取向：一家外资用电企业去买这部分电时，不应面对一扇与境内企业不同的门。
需要说清的是，这个表态不是规则。它没有创设交易品种、配额、优惠电价，也没有开设专门通道。执行仍按现行框架：电力中长期交易基本规则、2021 年启动的试点、2023 年扩展到可再生能源发电全口径的绿证制度，以及消纳责任权重制度。把这句话读成”新权利落地”的企业，会去找一份并不存在的申请表。
这个表态做了什么、没做什么
它是关于平等对待的表态，用词是”平等参与”。对曾经被告知”这类产品对境内用户开放、对外资不太顺”的制造企业来说，这是指向个案处理方式的信号——既是给市场的，也是给执行机构的。
它确认了不打算对外资用电企业另设资格门槛。这一点重要，因为绿电产品往往通过年度或月度安排分配，资格认定在地方层面完成。这个层级的表态，在与交易中心或地方能源主管部门沟通时有用；但它不是这些机构必须援引的文件。
它没有创设绿电采购义务、没有对外资企业设定可再生能源比例、也没有新增绿证品类，企业不应据此推断出截止日期。真正创设义务的是可再生能源电力消纳责任权重制度，那是独立的一套工具，有自己的适用对象与实施办法。
也没有专门面向外资的绿电市场被宣布。
三条路径及其差别
路径一：交易。 用电企业通过交易机构购买附带可再生能源属性的电量，形式可以是结构上属于长期购电协议的多年期交易，也可以是月度挂牌。这是唯一让属性与物理电量同行的路径，凭证链也最干净：成交记录、结算单、以及就同一电量核发的绿证。
路径二：绿证。 在物理电量之外单独购买绿证，即证电分离。它更快、流动性更好、可小批量购买，适合负荷难以预测、或电表由业主掌控的场地。代价在证据上：绿证证明买到了属性，不证明这个场地用的电子来自某座风电场。
路径三：自建或分布式自用。 有屋顶或场地的工厂自建装机并消纳所发电力。这是最强的主张，因为发电与用电在物理上重合。摩擦也最多：并网审批、同一场地向第三方售电的限制、以及以年计而非以合同条款计的资金投入。
双重计算问题
审计中反复出现的失误是算术问题，不是合同问题。企业为某一电量购买了绿证，在用电披露中把这部分报为可再生能源，随后又把绿证作为持有工具再报一次——同一兆瓦时进了两本账。
纪律只有一条：一次性地确定属性记在哪本账上。如果主张建立在用电基础上，绿证就对应这部分用电核销，不再作为资产出现；如果绿证是作为工具持有，它就不能同时支撑用电主张。核销追踪系统的存在正是为此；企业若在系统之外另跑一张表，早晚会算出两个对不上的数字。
出口场景下的凭证链
对出口欧洲、或为已承诺百分之百使用可再生能源电力的品牌供货的制造商来说，采购只是事情的一半，另一半是接收方是否接受企业提供的数据。
按欧盟碳边境调节机制，进口商须就纳入范围货物的嵌入排放作出申报；对中国工厂而言，问题在于能否以实际数据替代默认值。这取决于该机制对具体货物的核算规则，也取决于排放口径——生产的直接排放，以及纳入计算时外购电力对应的间接排放。绿色采购只影响间接一侧，且只在规则允许以实际数据申报的范围内起作用。这是按接收方要求的形态留痕的理由，不是推迟采购的理由。
品牌方的要求有自己的口径。百分之百可再生能源电力的承诺，通常按市场边界与年份评估：凭证须来自与用电相同的市场，发电期与用电期对应。在全球范围挑最便宜的绿证，会发现它们不被计入，无论这笔支出在报告里多么说得通。
三个需要细读的合同条款
年度偏差考核。 合同通常考核实际用电量与合同电量是否匹配，设定允许区间，并对超出部分计收费用。对正在爬产或做季节性促销的工厂，按稳态工厂设定的区间会在第一年就产生费用。签约前先做负荷测算，并就停产的处理方式谈妥。
曲线匹配。 合同可能约定曲线而非平坦电量。当约定曲线与场地实际负荷形态不一致时，差额按现货价或违约价结算，绿色属性可能不附着于差额电量。平坦型产品更简单；分时型产品只有曲线对得上时才更便宜。
转供加价。 用电企业是租户、由业主批量购电再转售时，绿色属性可能被加价、被稀释、或者干脆丢失。租赁合同与供能协议必须写明转供电量、属性转移机制与价格公式；否则租户为一项自己无法举证的主张付了溢价。
采购落地清单
先核验用电户号与户名，签约主体与户名不一致会卡住结算。再按月度颗粒度确认用电历史，合同形态与偏差区间都取决于它。与交易中心确认申报时点：错过一个窗口，可能就落在报告年度结束之后。
在第一次采购之前确定核销政策，写清属性记在哪本账上；成交记录、结算单与核销凭证按同一电量放在同一处。维护一份内部碳台账，每场地每月一行：审计要问的从来不是有没有买绿电，而是这个场地这一年的电量、凭证与核销记录能否拿出来。
展望
方向足够清楚：可再生能源电力被当作常规投入品，而不是特殊照顾；投资数据也显示一部分外资工厂已经这么采购。没有变的是机制——交易在既有的市场里发生，绿证在既有的系统里核销，义务由创设义务的那套工具产生。受益最多的，是把这次表态当作”现在就用现有路径启动”的理由、而不是”等一个尚未宣布的通道”的理由的企业。
延伸阅读
- 《外资企业的绿电采购与碳合规》（第 228 篇）——交易与绿证架构的详细展开。
- 《可再生能源电力消纳责任权重》（第 371 篇）——义务一侧，含实施办法。
来源
- 国务院新闻办公室·”十五五”商务高质量发展新闻发布会（2026-10-22）：https://www.scio.gov.cn/live/2026/39833/index.html
- 商务部·政策发布与外资数据：https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/
- 国家发展和改革委员会：https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/
- 国家能源局·绿电交易与绿证政策：https://www.nea.gov.cn/
- 中国政府网·政策库：https://www.gov.cn/