context: The National Development and Reform Commission and five other agencies issued guiding opinions on actions to replace energy with renewable sources on 30 October. The guidance aims to increase renewable energy consumption from 1.1 bn tonnes of standard coal in 2025 to 1.5 bn tonnes by 2030, aligning with the 2030 carbon peak objective.
Interpreting the new guidance, Zhang Xing 张星 National Energy Administration spokesperson underscores the critical role of renewable energy in securing a green and low-carbon energy system. Zhang notes that the plan’s primary tasks include enhancing renewable energy capacity, increasing sector-specific renewable integration and expanding innovation pilots.
For a reliable and sufficient supply of renewable energy, the guidance calls for
- a further expansion of large-scale wind and solar installations, especially in desert, Gobi and wasteland regions and through offshore wind cluster development
- advancing large-scale hydropower projects, integrating water, wind and solar resources
- key infrastructure improvements, including advancements in flexible direct current transmission and hybrid AC/DC grids, as well as the development of digital and smart grids
The guidance prioritises renewable energy integration in key sectors
- in industry, it encourages a green transformation of energy use, with industries like steel and petrochemicals to be relocated to regions with abundant renewable resources
- for the digital economy, it promotes aligning data centers, 5G stations and supercomputing centers with renewable sources, ensuring a higher share of clean energy consumption in large-scale projects like 'wast data, west computing'
Emphasises is also put on pilot projects for emerging technologies, notes Zhang, highlighting trials in
- offshore floating wind power
- green direct power
- hydrogen metallurgy
New business models are also encouraged, such as cross-sector renewable integration in industries like agriculture and forestry and innovations in digital energy, virtual power plants and rural energy cooperatives.
To support these actions, NEA plans to enhance renewable energy policies, including
- refining energy consumption and responsibility-sharing mechanisms
- providing policy and financial backing for technological advancements
- applying key development initiatives to encourage critical renewable technologies
This guidance is critical for driving wind and solar projects and advancing new power systems, argues Lin Boqiang 林伯强 Xiamen University.