In order to peak emissions before 2030, achieve the goal of 2 degrees C temperature rise and protect people's health, China's power sector urgently needs to increase its share of clean energy. However, high generation costs and an inadequate grid transmission capacity still impedes clean generation technology development. It is still unclear which conditions would enable the large penetration of clean generation technologies in China's power sector. Thus, this study develops a quantitative calculation method to find the most effective regional subsidy and interregional transmission capacity levels, so that the penetration barriers can be overcome and clean energy resources in China can be fully used. The simulation results indicate that the most effective subsidy for each clean generation technology differs from region to region. Using solar power as an example, the most effective subsidy in the north, northeast and northwest regions is 0.4 RMB/kW h and in the south region it is 0.7 RMB/kW h. If these subsidies are implemented, the share of solar power in the Chinese power sector can reach 24.7% by 2050. Additionally, the results also indicate that the most effective interregional transmission capacity in 2050 is about 13 times of the current transmission capacity plan. Under the most effective regional subsidies and interregional transmission capacity, the share of clean energy generation in the Chinese power sector can reach 59.6%. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.