Qinghai electricity emission factor 2023 (grid factor, kg CO2 per kWh)

In short

The 2023 electricity CO2 emission factor for Qinghai, published by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment and National Bureau of Statistics, is 0.1796 kg CO2 per kWh (179.6 g). That is 14.6% higher than 2022 (0.1567 kg).

Updated 23 October 2026 by the Carbon Recycling team. Figures are from Table 3 of each MEE and NBS announcement on electricity CO2 emission factors, checked against the published notices.

Work out your Qinghai electricity emissions

KWh in a year

= 89.80 tonnes CO2 in 2023 (Scope 2 (location-based))

Each kWh × 0.1796 kg CO2, the MEE and NBS 2023 provincial average for Qinghai.

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Qinghai emission factor by year

Year	kg CO2 per kWh	g CO2 per kWh	Change	Published in
2023	0.1796	179.6	+14.6%	Announcement 2025 No. 47
2022	0.1567	156.7	+18.2%	Announcement 2024 No. 33
2021	0.1326	132.6	–	Announcement 2024 No. 12

CO2 per kWh generated, across every type of power (coal, gas, hydro, wind, nuclear, solar and others), as the MEE and NBS publish it. CO2 only: methane and nitrous oxide are not included. 2021 is the first year the MEE and NBS published provincial figures in this series. Source: Ministry of Ecology and Environment and National Bureau of Statistics of China, electricity CO2 emission factor announcements 2024 No. 12, 2024 No. 33 and 2025 No. 47.

Qinghai and its regional grid

Qinghai is on the Northwest China regional grid, whose 2023 average is 0.5543 kg CO2 per kWh. The provincial figure of 0.1796 kg is the more local one and the better choice for a site in Qinghai. The MEE says provincial figures move with the province's own mix of power and with how much clean electricity it brings in from other provinces.

Worked example

Take a factory or warehouse in Qinghai using 500,000 kWh a year. 500,000 kWh × 0.1796 kg CO2 = 89.8 tonnes CO2, reported as Scope 2 (location-based).

How to use it

Multiply each site's electricity use in kWh for the year by the figure for the same year, and report the result as location-based Scope 2 under the GHG Protocol. Qinghai's figure is below China's national average (0.5306 kg CO2 per kWh in 2023), so using the national figure for a site here would overstate its emissions.

The same announcements give two national figures for other uses. Where a business buys green electricity (绿电) through the market, the MEE says that power can be counted at zero and the rest at the national average without market-traded non-fossil power: 0.6096 kg CO2 per kWh in 2023. That is the market-based figure; keep the location-based one alongside it. The national fossil-power factor (0.8273 kg in 2023) is only for counting electricity known to come from fossil plants.

Common mistakes: using the CDM or CCER baseline factors (OM and BM), which are for offset projects, not footprints; mixing years, such as a 2023 factor for one site and 2021 for another; and calling the result CO2e when the factor is CO2 only. Carbon Recycling is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment or the National Bureau of Statistics.

UK companies with a factory, office or supplier in Qinghai should use this figure for that site and keep the UK government grid electricity factor for their UK sites. The same figures are what Chinese customers and suppliers use for their own footprints, so they also suit supplier questionnaires about goods made in China.

Where to find your kWh

The site's electricity bills (电费单) or the State Grid or China Southern Power Grid online account show the kWh used each month; add up the months in your reporting year. Where a landlord or industrial park pays the bill, ask for the site's sub-meter readings. Use each site's own province: a business with sites in several provinces needs a figure for each.

Related emission factors

Gansu electricity: 0.4471 kg CO2 per kWh (2023)
Xinjiang electricity: 0.6021 kg CO2 per kWh (2023)
Sichuan electricity: 0.1564 kg CO2 per kWh (2023)
Northwest China regional grid: 0.5543 kg CO2 per kWh (2023)
Every Chinese province and regional grid
China national grid average, every year
All emission factors

Frequently asked questions

What is Qinghai's grid emission factor called in Chinese?

It is 青海的省级电力平均二氧化碳排放因子 (provincial average electricity CO2 emission factor), Table 3 of each announcement. People also call it the grid emission factor (电网排放因子) or carbon intensity of electricity. For 2023 it is 0.1796 kgCO2/kWh.

Should I use the provincial figure or the regional grid one?

Use the provincial figure where you know which province the site is in: it is the most local official figure and the one closest to the GHG Protocol's "grid where the electricity is used". The regional grid figures are for when a source, customer or scheme asks for them, or where no provincial figure is published (Tibet, for example, has no provincial figure; the Southwest China grid figure is the nearest official one). Use one level for each site and say which.

Is there a 2024 or newer figure?

Not yet. The 2023 figures (announcement 2025 No. 47) are the newest the MEE and NBS have published; they run about two years behind. For a later reporting year, use the newest published year and say so, then update when the next announcement comes out.

Is this the same as the CCER or CDM baseline emission factor?

No. The regional grid baseline factors (operating margin and build margin, OM and BM) are for working out the reductions a renewable energy or offset project can claim. For a company's own carbon footprint, the average factors on this page are the right ones; the MEE says they are for working out CO2 from electricity use.

Does it include methane and nitrous oxide?

No. The announcements give CO2 only, per kWh generated. Those gases usually add under 1% for power stations, but if your report is in CO2e, say that the China electricity figures are CO2 only. China has also started publishing separate electricity carbon footprint factors (电力碳足迹因子) for product carbon footprints, which count the whole life cycle; they are a different measure and are not used here.

We are a UK company with a site in Qinghai. Which factor do we use?

Use the Qinghai figure for that site's electricity, not the UK grid factor and not China's national average (0.5306 kg in 2023). Chinese provinces range from mostly hydro (Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai) to mostly coal, so the national average can be far out for any one site.

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