Benefited from a year-on-year increase in average rainfall, the hydropower segment successfully achieved a turnaround from a loss to a profit and became one of the key drivers of profit growth for the Group in the year 2024.
Moreover, benefited from the steady demand for coal-fired power and a notable reduction in unit fuel costs, particularly the lower average unit purchase price of coal and a series of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement measures, the thermal power segment recorded a steady year-on-year growth in profit as compared to the previous year. The energy storage business has also become a key highlight of the year, with profits increasing by approximately 133% as compared to the previous year. With favorable support from the national policies, this segment is expected to further unleash its growth potential in the future.
For the year ended 31 December 2024, the profit attributable to equity holders of the Group amounted to RMB3,861,822,000 (2023: RMB3,084,469,000). Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Company amounted to RMB3,364,381,000 (2023: RMB2,660,322,000). Basic earnings per share was approximately RMB0.27 (2023: RMB0.22). As at 31 December 2024, net assets per share (excluding non-controlling interests and other equity instruments) was approximately RMB3.22.
During the year under review, the development and performance of the Group’s principal businesses were as follows:
Installed Capacity
As at 31 December 2024, the consolidated installed capacity of the Group’s power plants was 49,390.9MW, representing a year-on-year increase of 4,372.1MW or 9.71%. The Group’s consolidated installed capacity of clean energy (inclusive of hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power, natural gas power and environmental power) was 39,570.9MW, accounting for approximately 80.12% of the total consolidated installed capacity of the Group, and representing an increase of approximately 4.73 percentage points as compared to the previous year.
The details of consolidated installed capacity of the Group as at 31 December 2024 are set out as follows:
The Group’s power generating units that commenced commercial operation and those that were acquired during the year are presented by type as follows:
Status of Key Projects
2024 was an important year for the Group to accomplish its strategic goals. The Company has stayed committed to high-quality development, focused on low-carbon and green transformation, and steadily pushed forward a number of key projects to lay the foundation for achieving the goal of “becoming a leading green and low-carbon energy provider in China by 2025”. The progress of the key projects during the year are as follows:
Integrated Multi-energy Complementary Project
In the first half of 2024, Phases I and II of the Multi-energy Complementary Million-kW New Energy Base with a total installed capacity of 700MW of China Power (Hubei) New Energy Co., Ltd.* (中電(湖北)新能源有限公司), a subsidiary of the Company, have commenced commercial operation at full capacity. In order to achieve a layout with complementary advantages and synergistic development between thermal power and new energy, the project effectively builds a foundation for clean and low-carbon development. It has not only significantly reduced the emission of air pollutants, but also promoted the diversified development of local industries and helped to accomplish both rural revitalization and environmental protection at the same time.
Offshore Wind Power Project
The Phase II of the Site U Project of Haiwei (Rushan) Offshore Wind Power Co., Ltd.* ( 海衛(乳山)海上風電有限公司), a subsidiary of the Company, has commenced commercial operation during the year. Located in the waters south of Rushan, Shandong Province, the center of the site is approximately 26 kilometers offshore, has a water depth of 28–30 meters, covers a total offshore planned area of approximately 71 square kilometers, and has a total installed capacity of 450MW. The annual on-grid power generation capacity is expected to reach one million MWh, which will assist in an annual saving of approximately 406,000 tons of coal and a reduction of 1.125 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The project’s development and construction will contribute to the structural restructuring of the local industries, promote local economic development, and foster sound social and comprehensive economic benefits.
Husbandry and Photovoltaic Complementary Project
The 100 MW Husbandry and Photovoltaic Complementary Project of Dorbod Mongol Autonomous County Green Energy and New Energy Co., Ltd.* (杜爾伯特蒙古族自治縣綠能新能源有限公司) , a subsidiary of the Company, was connected to the power grid at full capacity in 2024. With complementary use of husbandry and photovoltaic power as its key feature, the project effectively utilizes saline-alkali land for the construction of photovoltaic facilities that promote efficient use of land resources, which alleviates soil erosion and facilitates water conservation to some extent. The green barrier formed by the growth of grass can improve the surrounding environment of the photovoltaic power station. The grass produced can provide feed for the sheep, while the manure from husbandry can in turn promote the growth of grass, ultimately forming an ecological cycle of husbandry. At the same time, the project is also one of the first batch of national large-scale base projects of its type in deserts, Gobi and barren land, and it is one of the top 100 projects in the “14th Five-Year Plan” of Heilongjiang Province. The project will contribute 176 million kWh of green electricity to the locality each year and help save a substantial amount of standard coal and water resources on an annual basis, and reduce pollutant emissions.
Innovation of Energy Technology
The Group accelerated the promotion of technological innovation and stepped up its investment in technological research and development. By focusing on key technological innovations and development of digitalization and intelligence, it aimed to further consolidate its competitive edge in the clean energy sector. In addition, we have actively nurtured and introduced high-end technical talents, accelerated the incubation of its energy-related strategic emerging industries, thereby promoting the practical application of energy-related technological innovation achievements.
Intelligent Energy Storage
Xinyuan Smart Storage, a subsidiary of the Company, was granted a series of industry awards, fully demonstrating its innovative capability and market competitiveness in the arena of energy storage. The “Active Safety Centralized Control System for Unmanned Energy Storage Power Stations Based on Production and Sales Synergy”, self-developed by Xinyuan Smart Storage, won the First Prize of the 2024 Electricity Innovation Award granted by the China Electricity Council. In addition, Xinyuan Smart Storage was honored with the “2024 Annual Emerging Enterprise of Energy Storage Award” at the 12th Energy Storage International Conference and Expo, and was rated among the “Top 100 Brands of Novel Energy Storage in China” at the 6th Energy Storage Carnival. These honors mark its outstanding performance in the area of energy storage technologies.
In terms of product innovation, Xinyuan Smart Storage launched a brand new product — “Smart Storage — Galaxy” series of supramolecular fully immersed industrial and commercial energy storage all-in-one machine, which provides innovative solutions for the area of industrial and commercial energy storage and meets the industry’s demand for highly-efficient energy storage systems. Meanwhile, Xinyuan Smart Storage’s first energy storage project with hybrid solid-liquid batteries, the 50MW/100MWh energy storage project in Tokson, Turpan, Xinjiang, has successfully completed the installation of equipment, highlighting its forward-looking technology application. Looking ahead, Xinyuan Smart Storage will continue to deepen its technological research and development, promote the intelligent and safe development of the energy storage industry, and accelerate its global deployment to further consolidate its competitive advantage in the energy storage market.
Green Power Transportation
Qiyuanxin Power, an associate of the Company, focused on promoting the transformation of the transportation sector towards electric, clean and intelligent operation. By the end of 2024, Qiyuanxin Power had built more than 1,000 charging and battery-swap stations for electric heavy-duty trucks nationwide. During the year, Qiyuanxin Power launched a series of innovative products with industry benchmarking significance, including Qiyuan Magic Box 284/400kWh vehicle-mounted storage-shared battery system and Qiyuan Jiaolong 600 semi-solid state battery. These products not only significantly enhance the range of electric heavy-duty trucks, but also effectively curb the operating costs, fostering a strong impetus for the large-scale application of new energy commercial vehicles. In areas along highways, mining areas and outbound transportation corridors, Qiyuanxin Power has developed intelligent micro-grids based on the “Charging and battery-swap stations — Energy storage — Distributed Energy” integrated mode, so as to achieve in-depth clean coupling between efficient consumption of wind and photovoltaic resources and energy for transportation use. In 2024, Zhaofeng Steel Charging and Battery-swap Station, the first wind-and-energy storage micro-grid charging and battery-swap station in China, was successfully put into operation, setting an important demonstration benchmark in the sector of new energy transportation. In terms of expanding new energy application scenarios, Qiyuanxin Power successfully replicated the model of “vehicle-mounted storage-shared and truck-battery separation” to the areas of vessels, loaders, electric agricultural machinery and others. During the year, the Company joined hands with its partners to develop a demonstration farm field for electric agricultural machinery and launched the first batch of electric agricultural machinery products to promote the clean transformation of the agricultural sector. At the same time, partnering with Tonly Heavy Industries ( 同力重工 ), Qiyuanxin Power officially launched the first 91-ton battery-swap wide-body mining truck tailored for Rio Tinto Group ( 力拓集團 ), the global mining giant, providing a brand-new solution for the green upgrade of the mining industry. Looking into the future, Qiyuanxin Power will continue to deepen the innovation of technology and business models, accelerate the clean and intelligent upgrade of the transportation sector, thereby introducing unlimited possibilities for sustainable development.
Projects under Construction
As at 31 December 2024, the consolidated installed capacity of the projects under construction was 6,429.0MW, all of which were clean energy projects and consisted of various large-scale wind power, photovoltaic power and environmental power generation projects in Shanxi Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hunan Province, Guizhou Province and Heilongjiang Province.
New Development Projects
Currently, the total installed capacity of new projects of the Group at a preliminary development stage (including projects with applications submitted to the PRC government for approval) is approximately 25,563MW, all of which are clean energy projects, and are primarily located in areas with development potential, such as Shandong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Shanxi Province. Such projects include the Shandong Peninsula South Offshore Wind Power Project with a total capacity of 3,000MW, Qinzhou 900MW Offshore Wind Power Demonstration Project, Xinjiang CP Shenhuo Mulei 800MW Wind Power Project, Xinjiang 9th Division 500MW Wind Power Project and other projects.
Power Generation and Electricity Sales
In 2024, the details of power generation and electricity sold by the Group are set out as follows:
In 2024, the total electricity sold by the Group amounted to 127,959,080MWh, representing an increase of 23.94% as compared with the previous year, which was benefited from favorable hydrological conditions, strategic acquisitions, new project commissioning and growth in renewable energy installed capacity. The changes in electricity sold by each power segment as compared with the previous year are as follows:
