Recently, the Hainan Provincial People's Government released the "15th Five-Year Plan for Hainan National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone (15th Five-Year Plan for Beautiful Hainan Construction)," which clearly proposes to steadily promote the ban on the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030. Hainan thus becomes the first province in China to cease the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles.
In fact, as early as 2022, the "Hainan Province Carbon Peak Implementation Plan" proposed a complete ban on the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles across the island by 2030. Four years later, this goal has been officially incorporated into the "15th Five-Year Plan," settling the matter. For the charging market, this will undoubtedly represent a visible increase; however, within the photovoltaic and energy storage industry, we are more concerned about whether the opportunities for photovoltaic and energy storage in Hainan will grow alongside the charging market.
I. The Hard Target for the Ban on Combustion Vehicles Increases from 23.75% to 45%
According to the quantitative targets in the 'Plan,' the proportion of new energy vehicles in Hainan is expected to increase from 23.75% in 2025 to 45% by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. This represents a near doubling.
In fact, Hainan's promotion of new energy vehicles is already among the leading in the country.
Data shows that in 2025, Hainan promoted 116,800 new energy vehicles, accounting for 62.9% of all new vehicles. As of January 2026, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the province had reached 55.13%, with a total of 544,600 vehicles, accounting for 23.95%. In other words, one out of every four vehicles on Hainan's roads is a new energy vehicle." The vehicles are all new energy vehicles.
By 2030, the proportion of clean energy vehicles in both new and replacement vehicles in the public service and social operation sectors, and the proportion of new and replacement vehicles in the private vehicle sector, will both reach 100%. Whether it's buses, taxis, ride-hailing vehicles, or private passenger cars, all new vehicles will be fully electrified.
Of course, "banning sales" does not equal "banning driving." After 2030, only the sale of pure gasoline vehicles will cease; existing gasoline vehicles can still undergo normal annual inspections and legally be driven on the road. However, the comprehensive shift in new demand has already charted a clear growth curve for the entire new energy industry chain.
II. The First Wave of Benefits in the Charging Market Has Already Been Realized
The most direct beneficiaries of the ban on gasoline vehicles are naturally the charging infrastructure.
Hainan has consistently adhered to a strategy of "charging stations first, with moderate over-progress" in the construction of charging piles. As of August 2025, Hainan Province had built a total of 4,895 charging stations, 95 battery swapping stations, and 232,900 charging piles (guns), achieving a vehicle-to-pile ratio of 2.1:1, which is better than the target of below 2.5:1 proposed in the plan. Charging station construction has achieved 100% coverage in highway service areas and all townships across the province.
More noteworthy is Hainan's "One Network" platform. As of the end of December 2025, the platform had connected 5,632 charging stations, 95 battery swapping stations, and approximately 69,400 charging guns, achieving 100% access to public charging piles throughout the province. Car owners can travel freely throughout the province using a single app. This model has also won the Special Prize for Electricity Innovation, becoming a "Hainan Model" for the construction of charging and battery swapping infrastructure in the province.
The improvement of charging infrastructure, in turn, is accelerating the popularization of new energy vehicles. Data shows this is a positive cycle. However, the growth of the charging market itself is creating another demand—photovoltaics and energy storage. Why? Because the concentrated charging of a large number of new energy vehicles is putting increasing pressure on the power grid.
III. Charging Load Drives the Integration of Photovoltaics, Energy Storage, and Charging
Power grid data shows that the surge in new energy vehicle charging is breaking the load record of the Hainan power grid.
During the peak summer seasons of 2023 and 2024, the total load of the Hainan power grid reached new highs 13 times during the "00:00-00:20" period. "Less than 20 minutes after midnight, the grid load will rapidly increase by more than 500,000 kilowatts, equivalent to adding 680,000 air conditioners operating simultaneously," described Dai Yangyu, manager of the Hainan Power Grid Dispatch and Control Center.
By the end of 2024, the number of new energy vehicles in Hainan Province had reached 409,000, and the charging load is increasing year by year. The "midnight peak" will become even more prominent, and the power grid system's regulation capacity will struggle to cope with the rate of charging load ramp-up.
This pain point is precisely where the value of integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging lies. Photovoltaic power generation + energy storage regulation + smart charging can both locally absorb green electricity and alleviate grid pressure through peak shaving and valley filling via energy storage.
In fact, Hainan has already seen many pioneers in this field.
The Baoting Zero-Carbon Service Area, built around the integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging concept, is equipped with intelligent integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging technology, enabling intelligent scheduling of photovoltaic power generation, energy storage charging and discharging, and charging terminal power consumption. The service area's 1.3MW photovoltaic installation has been officially connected to the grid, and it is expected to generate an average of 1.68 million kWh of electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1,379 tons per year.
The Fengjiawan Zero-Carbon Service Area focuses on "distributed new energy innovation integration," deploying energy storage and V2G charging piles to build an energy ecosystem of synergistic interaction between "source, grid, load, and storage." Both projects were selected as typical cases of innovative development in the integration of transportation and energy in China for 2025.
The Datang Binhai Integrated Smart Energy Technology Demonstration Project in Haikou Jiangdong New Area has also been put into operation, constructing an integrated architecture encompassing "photovoltaic-storage-direct and flexible power generation, multi-source heterogeneous energy storage, energy routing control, and digital intelligent low-carbon management."
The project achieves 100% utilization of electricity generated from distributed photovoltaic, micro-wind power generation, and energy storage systems. Clean energy generation and storage can meet 77.2% of the electricity demand of Datang's headquarters office building.
The more charging piles there are, the heavier the grid load becomes, and the more prominent the value of integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging becomes. Therefore, there is no doubt that the expansion of the charging market is creating the most direct application scenarios for photovoltaic-storage in Hainan.
IV. Hainan's Energy Storage Market is Taking Off
Even disregarding the photovoltaic-storage-charging market, the market space for energy storage itself in Hainan is rapidly expanding.
Hainan's efforts in promoting energy storage should not be underestimated. Since 2025, Hainan has vigorously promoted the "new energy + energy storage" model, completing a storage capacity of 1.247 million kilowatts, ranking first in the country in terms of storage ratio.
The marketization of independent energy storage in Hainan is also accelerating. In December 2025, the Datang Wenchang Chang'an Energy Storage Power Station successfully completed its first day of spot electricity trading clearing and settlement, marking a historic breakthrough in the market-based price settlement of independent energy storage in Hainan.
Peak-valley electricity price difference is the core support for the economic viability of energy storage. Hainan's peak-valley electricity price difference ranks among the highest in the country. In 2025, Hainan's largest peak-valley price difference reached 1.043 yuan/kWh, ranking second among all provinces in China.
The deployment of leading companies sends a strong signal. After signing a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hainan Provincial Government, CATL accelerated its deployment of industrial and commercial energy storage in Hainan. In October 2025, CATL, Hainan Huihai New Energy, and Hainan Haiyu Tinplate Industry signed a tripartite agreement to build a photovoltaic-storage supercharging zero-carbon microgrid demonstration station in Haikou, scheduled for delivery in March 2026. This demonstration station has a photovoltaic installed capacity of 3MWp and an annual power generation of 3.9 million kWh, saving 1333.8 tons of standard coal annually. CATL stated that the peak-valley time-of-use electricity pricing implemented in Hainan provides "charging and discharging" conditions for energy storage equipment, and it can even achieve "two charging and two discharging".
V. Challenges Cannot Be Ignored
Currently, integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging projects in Hainan are primarily demonstration projects. Projects like those in Baoting, Fengjiawan Service Area, and Jiangdong New Area, which combine energy generation, grid, load, and storage, are largely policy pilots and benchmark demonstrations. There is still a significant gap between demonstration and large-scale commercial operation.
Furthermore, forcing storage into low-utilization charging stations will result in idle equipment eroding revenue. Prioritizing projects in scenarios with more stable loads or higher peak loads, such as public transportation, taxis, ride-hailing services, logistics, car rentals, airports, ports, and highway service areas, is crucial.
At the same time, it's important to note that leading companies have already entered the market. For example, CATL is accelerating the construction of its new energy ecosystem by increasing capital in subsidiaries, deploying battery swapping stations, and implementing a zero-carbon grid strategy. New entrants need to find differentiated positioning and breakthroughs.
Overall, the certain growth of the charging market provides the underlying demand logic for photovoltaic-storage projects in Hainan. The doubling of new energy vehicle ownership from 23.75% to 45% signifies a substantial increase in charging load, which is precisely where the value of integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging and peak-shaving storage lies.
However, the market still needs more mature business models, lower system costs, more complete power grid infrastructure, and clearer policy guidance. Meanwhile, Hainan, as the first province in China to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles, is, to some extent, paving the way for the integration of new energy transportation and energy across the country through its photovoltaic and energy storage market development path.
