Yimei International (01870.HK) Obtains Guangdong Virtual Power Plant Operation Qualification: Full-Chain Energy Ecosystem Takes Shape, Valuation Logic Undergoes Reconstruction

Recently, Yimei International Holdings (01870.HK) $GREEN POWER GP(01870.HK) issued a voluntary announcement that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Guangdong Gangneng Power, has been officially included in the tenth batch of virtual power plant operators in Guangdong Province, obtaining a compliant operating license for virtual power plants in the core electricity market of the Greater Bay Area. This qualification is not just an additional business permit, but a landmark node in the company's transformation from a traditional electricity sales trader to a digital comprehensive energy service provider. Relying on the synergy of AI electricity trading, self-owned energy storage, existing commercial and industrial customers, and the virtual power plant dispatch platform, the company's profit structure, industry barriers, and capital market valuation logic have all undergone systematic reshaping.

Guangdong Gangneng Officially Obtains Virtual Power Plant Operation Access Qualification

According to the announcement disclosed by the company on July 17, Guangdong Gangneng Power completed its public notice period from June 5 to July 4, 2026. After verification by the Guangdong Electricity Trading Center, it was listed in the tenth batch of virtual power plant operator directories under document number Guangdong Transaction [2026] No. 226.

After the qualification is implemented, Guangdong Gangneng will transform from a single electricity sales entity into a comprehensive energy service provider with qualifications for distributed resource aggregation, unified dispatch, and multi-category electricity market trading. It can aggregate resources such as distributed photovoltaics, energy storage, adjustable commercial and industrial loads, and charging piles to participate in three core markets in Guangdong Province: electricity energy trading, demand-side response, and electricity ancillary services.

As the province with the largest electricity load in China, Guangdong has well-developed market-oriented supporting policies for virtual power plants. Since the end of 2024, Guangdong Province has continuously released core documents to build a national leading virtual power plant market participation system. The provincial and municipal two-level subsidy systems are mature. For example, Guangzhou proposed conducting active power demand response subsidies at a standard of no more than 3.5 yuan per kilowatt-hour, providing ample market profit space. Being the first to obtain local operation qualifications locks in the core entry channel for Yimei International in the new power market of the Greater Bay Area.

Deep Transformation in Business: Breaking Through Traditional Sales Bottlenecks and Building a Synergistic Profit Loop

1. Diversified Profit Models, Reducing Dependence on Single Price Spreads

Previously, Yimei International's original electricity sales business relied heavily on the price spread between electricity purchase and sales, making it highly susceptible to supply and demand cycles, electricity price fluctuations, and squeezing by peer competition, resulting in weak performance stability. The virtual power plant license is expected to gradually open up three new high-margin revenue channels: On one hand, the company can integrate scattered adjustable resources in the region, package them uniformly, and participate in electricity spot market trading to capture arbitrage profits from peak-valley electricity price differences; on the other hand, it can rely on the fast and precise response capabilities of energy storage resources to participate in grid frequency regulation, peak shaving, and other ancillary services, obtaining relatively stable dispatch compensation; additionally, the company can undertake grid load adjustment instructions during peak electricity usage periods, participate in demand response, and realize provincial and municipal special subsidies, further forming continuous service income.

The parallel operation of multiple revenue channels effectively smooths out single-business cycle fluctuations, significantly enhancing overall profit resilience.

2. Two-Way Empowerment of Own Assets and Digital Technology, Building Industry Differentiation Barriers

The market is 不缺 virtual power plant operators, but some operators mainly focus on resource aggregation and transaction matching. Unlike operators that only hold licenses without physical assets or technical reserves, Yimei International has laid out complete supporting resources in advance. The virtual power plant platform has become the core hub connecting various sectors, forming an unreplicable competitive advantage.

At the technical level, AI electricity trading technology empowers dispatch operations. The company has accumulated experience in cross-provincial AI electricity forecasting, intelligent quotation, and risk control system construction, which can be directly mounted on the virtual power plant dispatch system to accurately predict load and electricity price trends, reduce transaction default risks, and improve the overall trading returns of the resource pool.

At the asset level, the value of energy storage assets will be fully released. The first phase of the company's Lechang energy storage has been included in the independent energy storage construction plan of the Guangdong Provincial Energy Administration and has obtained approval for access to the Guangdong Power Grid. The second phase, a 218MW/436MWh project, completed filing in May 2026, with a long-term planned total scale reaching up to 436MW/872MWh. Previously, energy storage only generated revenue through peak-valley arbitrage and capacity leasing. After being integrated into the unified dispatch of the virtual power plant, energy storage can participate in the ancillary service market as a flexible peak-shaving unit, further improving the internal rate of return of energy storage projects.

Meanwhile, having cultivated the electricity sales market in the Greater Bay Area for many years, the company holds a large number of industrial and commercial electricity customers, allowing its existing commercial and industrial customer resources to be further reused. Relying on the existing customer base, the company can aggregate massive adjustable loads at low costs, quickly achieve scaled expansion of the virtual power plant resource pool, and realize secondary value mining of existing customers.

The integrated layout of "AI Trading Brain + Virtual Power Plant Dispatch Platform + Physical Energy Storage Assets" allows the company to form an internal synergistic ecosystem, where each business sector empowers the others, continuously amplifying operational benefits.

Capital Market Value Reassessment: Switching Valuation Logic, Opening Up Growth Imagination Space

First, the implementation of the virtual power plant business will drive a change in the company's business attributes, prompting an upgrade in the valuation framework. Traditional electricity sales and independent energy storage businesses belong to the electricity trade and heavy-asset energy engineering tracks, where valuations are constrained by capital expenditures and commodity cycles, resulting in generally low valuation centers. In contrast, virtual power plants belong to the light-asset digital energy service track, featuring strong customer stickiness, continuously decreasing marginal operating costs, and prominent digital attributes, matching a higher growth valuation system.

With the implementation of the virtual power plant business, the company's positioning shifts from a traditional electricity intermediary to a digital energy operation platform in the Greater Bay Area. The capital market valuation anchor points switch synchronously, potentially gaining a valuation premium in the digital energy track.

Secondly, the continuous expansion of revenue sources helps enhance the stability of the company's growth and weaken cyclical fluctuation risks. Previously, the company's performance was significantly affected by electricity prices and the production schedule of energy storage projects; after the implementation of the virtual power plant, revenue sources cover multiple dimensions such as trading arbitrage, subsidies, energy storage value-added, and comprehensive energy services. The diversified revenue structure significantly enhances cash flow stability, effectively reducing performance uncertainty brought by single businesses, and boosting institutional long-term holding confidence.

At the same time, after large-scale platform operation, massive data on commercial and industrial energy consumption in the Greater Bay Area will be 沉淀 (accumulated). Subsequently, high value-added businesses such as carbon asset management, green certificate trading, and corporate energy-saving ESG support can be extended, opening up a second growth curve for the medium to long term.

More importantly, the company has positioned itself in the new power system industry chain, seizing track dividends. Currently, there are few enterprises in Guangdong Province that simultaneously possess electricity sales qualifications, own large-scale energy storage assets, self-developed AI electricity trading systems, and virtual power plant operation licenses. Yimei International's complete industry chain layout possesses scarcity. Against the backdrop of national unified electricity market development, distributed energy, and accelerated virtual power plant policies, funds continue to tilt towards comprehensive digital energy service providers. The company's track positioning advantage will drive the continuous upward revision of its valuation center.

Conclusion

Obtaining the Guangdong Province virtual power plant operation qualification is a key milestone in Yimei International's green energy transition. Relying on the synergistic resonance of four core elements: technology, assets, customers, and licenses, the company has completely broken through the growth ceiling of traditional electricity sales businesses, building a diverse and sustainable profit model. Standing at the forefront of the construction of the new power system in the Greater Bay Area, as the virtual power plant resource pool continues to expand and energy storage projects are gradually implemented, the company's business synergy effects will continue to be released. The capital market will also gradually complete the re-pricing of its digital energy platform value, and its medium-to-long-term growth value is worth continued attention.