Greener self-sufficient power grid prioritized

Technicians check equipment at a solar power station in the Kazak autonomous county of Aksay, Gansu province, in November. (TIAN YUE/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China is set to further enhance its energy self-sufficiency while expanding its renewable energy dominance in the coming years, said the National Energy Administration during a conference in Beijing on Sunday.

While crude oil production in China has increased for six consecutive years, natural gas output has also risen for eight straight years, boosting the country's energy self-sufficiency rate above 80 percent in 2024, the NEA said.

The country's total power generation capacity stands at around 3.32 billion kilowatts this year, with electricity output reaching 10 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 5.7 percent year-on-year, it said.

Renewable energy resources are on course to contribute more to the country's total energy supply. China is set to add more than 300 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity this year, accounting for over 85 percent of all newly installed capacity, a significant step in the country's green and low-carbon energy transition, it said.

China continued to accelerate construction of large-scale wind and solar power bases in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions this year amid efforts to boost renewable power, said Wang Hongzhi, head of the NEA.

To date, China had installed about 510 million kW of wind power and 840 million kW of photovoltaic power, with the utilization rate remaining at above 95 percent, driving rapid growth in both sectors, Wang said.

China has also transformed and upgraded 180 million kW of coal power units and eliminated more than 8 million kW of outdated capacity this year, with the proportion of intelligent production capacity in total coal production capacity increasing to more than 50 percent, the NEA said.

While major hydropower projects progressed in an orderly manner throughout this year — with several large-scale projects approved for construction, boosting total hydropower capacity in the country to 435 GW — China has also become the world's largest nuclear power producer, with the country's total nuclear power generation capacity topping the global list.

A total of 102 nuclear reactors are currently in operation or under construction with a total installed capacity of 113 GW, it said.

With enhanced national energy security guarantee capacity and green low-carbon development, the China Electricity Council expects the country will add around 250 GW of new solar power capacity in 2024, bringing the total installed capacity to over 850 GW.

This would account for more than a quarter of China's total power generation capacity, it said.

According to global consultancy Rystad Energy, China's solar sector is set to break records in the coming years, with total installed solar PV capacity expected to cross the 1,000 GW mark by the end of 2026.

Rystad Energy expects 255 GW of new solar PV installation in China in 2024, with another surge in installation towards the end of the year expected — around 20 GW in November and 50 GW in December.

Renewable energy installation has surged since last year and the momentum has not been slowing down, said Zhu Yicong, vice-president of renewables and power research at Rystad Energy.

China has shown its clear leadership in global PV installation and we are expecting close to 60 percent of such global installation to come from China this year, Zhu said.

Looking ahead, the NEA said during the conference that the country will accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system in 2025.

Wang said China is on track to establish a national unified power market with a preliminary structure to be established by 2025, further integrating renewable energy resources while optimizing the distribution of power across the vast national grid.

A national unified power market is a system where electricity is bought, sold and distributed across the entire country in a standardized way. It connects all regions, ensuring equal access to power, promotes competition and allows for efficient pricing.

Efforts will be made to ensure continuous operation of the medium and long-term electricity market, with the goal of achieving full provincial coverage of electricity spot markets, he said.