Located in the southwest of China and bordering on Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, Yunnan province is abundant in energy resources. The Jinsha River, Lancang River, Nujiang River, Pearl River and Hong River run through the province. Yunnan boasts a theoretical potential of water energy exceeding 100 million kilowatts, a total reserve of wind energy of nearly 120 million kilowatts, and total solar energy resources equivalent to 731 million tons of standard coal, and it is home to more than 200 varieties of woody oil plants.

With abundant energy resources and unique geographical advantages, Yunnan province has become an important clean energy base in China, a west-east power transmission base and a trans-regional oil & gas hub and gateway. As a clean energy base, its total installed capacity of electric power reached 80 million kilowatts at the end of 2015, including installed capacity of hydropower and new energy of 66 million kilowatts; 82 percent of installed capacity is clean energy. Yunnan can generate an annual clean electricity of over 300 billion kilowatt-hours. Its renewable energy production accounts for 71 percent and non-fossil energy consumption 41.9%; its energy production and consumption structure is obviously environmentally-friendly and pollution-free. As the west-east power transmission base, Yunnan transmits clean power to such places as Guangdong, Shanghai and Guangxi after satisfying the demand of Yunnan for electricity. In 2015, the province sent out electric power of 110.9 billion kilowatt-hours, with a transmission capability exceeding 23.4 million kilowatts. As the trans-regional oil & gas hub and gateway, the Sino-Myanmar Oil & Gas Pipeline traversing Yunnan has been completed as one of the four strategic oil & gas pipelines in China. By the end of 2015, it had transmitted 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas in total.

Under the guideline of "putting ecological environment first and developing in a scientific and orderly way", the new energy industry has witnessed vigorous development in Yunnan. By the end of 2015, it had an installed capacity of 7.8 million kilowatts of new energy, including 6.3 million kilowatts of wind energy and 1.5 million of photovoltaic power. With the rapid development of wind power generation, diversified application of solar energy, biomass heat supply and generation and utilization of geothermal energy, new energy is playing an increasingly important role in the energy structure in Yunnan province.

Along with the integration process of the global energy market, Yunnan has constantly deepened and expanded its energy international cooperation. Starting from the neighboring South Asia and Southeast Asia, Yunnan has conducted fruitful exchange and cooperation with foreign countries across the world in the fields of energy trade, infrastructure interconnectivity, technical service, and equipment manufacturing. In particular, as for the cooperation and development in solar energy, wind power and biomass energy, Yunnan used its advantages and achieved satisfactory results in cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Science and technology represent the future of energy development. With the development of the energy industry, Yunnan has made rapid progress in such fields as energy equipment manufacturing and technical service, formed an energy equipment manufacturing industry with electrical equipment and new energy equipment manufacturing as the core business, and reached an internationally-advanced level in such technical spheres as advanced hydropower, smart power grids and new energy. In particular, the development and application of new energy technology with draught fans for highlands, biomass fuel, and bio-diesel as the core businesses is profoundly changing the situation of the energy industry in Yunnan.