Distributed Energy China is the only large-scale, government-backed gathering in the country devoted to distributed generation and integrated energy services. Organised by the China Electricity Council and supported by the National Energy Administration, the three-day exhibition and forum alternates between Shanghai and Beijing each May and expects 18 000 professional visitors in 2024. More than 350 exhibitors—state-grid research institutes, turbine makers, fuel-cell pioneers, battery and inverter suppliers, micro-grid operators, EPC contractors and digital-service providers—occupy 30 000 m² of space to demonstrate modular gas turbines, hydrogen-ready gensets, rooftop PV kits, flow batteries, virtual-power-plant software and end-to-end district cooling systems. A concurrent 60-booth start-up zone is financed by the Belt & Road Energy Fund to accelerate pilot projects in Indonesia, Pakistan and Kenya.

The congress programme is built around five policy-driven themes: grid-parity distributed renewables, city-level integrated energy planning, sector-coupled heating and cooling, digital twins for micro-grids, and financing & trading mechanisms for distributed resources. Over 120 speakers have been confirmed, including Li Ye, Director of the NEAs Department of Power; Shu Yinbiao, Chairman of the State Grid Corporation; Maria de Miguel, Head of EU Energy-China Cooperation; and Zhang Lei, CEO of Envision Energy. Morning plenaries analyse the 14th Five-Year Plan targets that require 150 GW of new distributed solar and 70 GW of combined heat and power by 2025, while parallel technical forums debate hydrogen CHP, vehicle-to-grid business models, cyber-security for DER controllers and AI-enabled energy management in industrial parks. A closed-door round-table for provincial energy bureaux and development banks negotiates standardised power-purchase agreements for behind-the-meter storage.

On the final afternoon, investors pitch in a live deal-room where 60 pre-qualified projects—totalling 4.3 GW of distributed capacity—seek debt and equity. A technical tour visits the 200 MW Lingang multi-energy micro-grid in the Shanghai free-trade zone, the 110 kV Zhangjiang AI+energy internet lab, and a 10 MW solid-oxide fuel-cell demonstration plant. Admission to the exhibition is free after on-line registration; the three-day conference pass includes simultaneous interpretation, lunches and the tour.