China Issues New Energy Plan at Transition Inflection Point
(Bloomberg) -- China published a five-year plan for building a new energy system, aiming to map out a way forward for a sector that’s starting to run up against the constraints of its rapid pivot toward clean electricity.
Every half-decade, Chinese leaders publish a five-year plan outlining economic and societal goals, and then follow it up with several sectoral schemes with more detailed targets and strategies. This year, the broader plan came out in March, and sectoral plans have begun trickling out in recent weeks, including ones on jobs and urban renewal.
The plan’s release comes at a seeming inflection point for China’s energy transition. Years of rapid build-outs of solar and wind farms have showed that the country has the means to expand clean energy fast enough to power its growing economy, while chipping away at its world-leading emissions. But that’s also put unprecedented strain on the electricity grid, leading to rising curtailment and a slowdown in new renewable installations.
Energy was already a major component of the broader five-year plan. It called for China to peak its coal and oil during the 2026-30 period, double non-fossil fuel energy over the next decade, and focus on developing technologies like hydrogen and nuclear fusion. It also sought to make progress on a major gas pipeline from Russia, and boost capacity of generating technologies like nuclear, offshore wind and pumped hydro storage.
Key targets from the new energy plan include:
Some other details from the plan:
- Wind and solar will account for more than 50% of total installed power capacity.
- It targets 160 gigawatts of pumped hydro and 300 gigawatts of battery storage capacity, along with 50 gigawatts of virtual power plants for demand response.
- It targets 2 million tons of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030, nearly double what’s currently online and under construction.
- Oil output will be maintained at around 200 million tons a year, while natural gas production will steadily increase.
- The country will rationally plan and construct natural gas power plants and promote domestic construction of gas turbines.
- Develop more than 100 million tons a year of coal production capacity that is ready to produce when needed.
- Develop future technologies, such as nuclear fusion, space-based power plants and superconducting transmission.
(Updates with additional details from plan)
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