In 2024, the Party's State Energy Administration's Party Leadership Group published an article in People's Daily The signed article titled "Supporting China's Modernization through Energy Transformation" states: Promote the transformation of terminal energy consumption from mainly relying on electricity substitution to a diversified and clean substitution involving electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, etc. Encourage key energy-consuming sectors to become important engines for energy transformation. By 2025, the electrification level of terminal energy use is expected to increase to around 30%.
This means that as more new energy sources are integrated into the power system, it would be best if they could be connected to the grid but not actually fed into it. Instead, they could be directly converted into other products such as hydrogen, ammonia, etc., for energy consumption. This would not require the use of the large power grid for transmission and distribution, thereby reducing the complexity of the new power system. We can observe that many power generation enterprises are also vigorously promoting integrated industries involving wind, solar, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, etc., gradually transforming into chemical enterprises.
The full text is as follows：
Energy is an essential material foundation for human survival and development. The low-carbon development of energy is related to the future of mankind. The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China closely focuses on the theme of advancing Chinese-style modernization and formulates strategic measures for further comprehensive deepening of reforms. It also makes new deployments and requirements for energy reform and development. We must study it thoroughly, understand it profoundly, and grasp it accurately, and use energy transformation to support Chinese-style modernization.
Deeply understand the remarkable achievements made in China's energy transition
Since the new era, China has adhered to the development path of prioritizing ecology and pursuing green and low-carbon development. It has unswervingly implemented the new energy security strategy, and the energy transformation and development have continuously reached new heights, effectively meeting the energy demands for high-quality economic and social development and effectively supporting the construction of a beautiful China.
The transformation of energy consumption structure has achieved remarkable results. The policy of giving priority to energy conservation has been effectively implemented. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, energy consumption per unit of GDP has decreased by more than 26%, and approximately 1.4 billion tons of standard coal have been saved in total. The scale of utilizing clean energy has been continuously expanded. In 2023, the proportion of clean energy consumption reached 26.4%, an increase of 10.9 percentage points compared to 10 years ago. The proportion of coal consumption has decreased by 12.1 percentage points cumulatively, and the proportion of green electricity consumption reached about 36%. The promotion of electricity substitution has been deepened. The electrification rate of end-use energy in the entire society reached 28%, an increase of approximately 7 percentage points compared to 2014.
The capacity for providing green energy has significantly increased. The development of new energy leads the world, with the installed capacity having grown 10 times compared to 10 years ago. It has remained the world's top in this regard for consecutive years, accounting for approximately 40% of the global total. This has enabled non-fossil fuel power generation capacity to historically surpass thermal power generation capacity. The annual electricity generation from renewable energy amounts to around 3 trillion kilowatt-hours, accounting for approximately one-third of the total electricity consumption in society. Among them, the electricity generated by wind and photovoltaic power exceeds the electricity consumption of all urban and rural residents in the country. Wind and photovoltaic products have covered more than 200 countries and regions around the world. The costs of wind and photovoltaic power generation have decreased by 60% and 80% respectively over the past 10 years, effectively reducing the cost of energy transformation and promoting global energy transformation and sustainable development.
The new energy production capacity is accelerating its development. The modernization level of the industrial chain has continued to improve. A complete research and development, design and manufacturing system for wind power and photovoltaic energy has been established. The conversion efficiency of advanced crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells has exceeded 25%, and the maximum single-unit capacity of offshore wind turbines has reached 18 megawatts. We have fully mastered large-scale third-generation pressurized water reactors and fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Major projects such as "Hualong One" and 100-megawatt hydropower have been put into operation. New energy models and new business forms are developing rapidly. The annual export of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products has exceeded one trillion yuan, helping to continuously consolidate and strengthen China's industrial chain advantages.
Strongly supporting the construction of a beautiful China. The guarantee for green energy use in people's production and life has been continuously strengthened. The rate of clean heating in northern regions has approached 80%. A global largest charging infrastructure system has been established, supporting China's production and sales of new energy vehicles to remain the world's top for 9 consecutive years and the number of such vehicles to exceed 20 million. More than 80% of coal-fired boilers have been reduced, and over 95% of coal-fired power plants have achieved ultra-low emissions, with the emission levels comparable to those of natural gas power plants. The quality of refined oil products has been continuously upgraded, and the quality has reached the world's advanced level.
To deepen reforms in the energy sector and enhance the driving force and vitality for transformation and development
The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasizes the need to accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system. At the same time, it proposes a series of major reform measures for deepening the reform of energy management systems, improving policies and measures for the consumption and regulation of new energy, and strengthening the construction of multilateral cooperation platforms in the energy sector. These measures provide a clear direction and path for further promoting energy transformation. On the new journey, we will further deepen reforms in the energy sector, enhance the driving force and vitality of energy transformation, and the key lies in establishing three systems.
Strengthen the system for ensuring the supply of clean energy. Establish a new mechanism for energy development and utilization that is oriented towards green and low-carbon. Promote the transformation of clean energy production and supply from centralized development and large-scale unified transmission and distribution to a combination of regional self-sufficiency and cross-regional optimization allocation, forming an energy production and supply pattern where new energy demands are met primarily through clean and low-carbon energy and gradually replace existing fossil energy. Improve the policy mechanisms for complementarity and substitution among different energy varieties, promote the optimization combination of coal and new energy, and achieve coordinated complementarity and orderly substitution of traditional energy and new energy. Improve the modern system for infrastructure construction and operation of energy, build a unified national power market, accelerate the construction of a new power system, achieve coordinated layout of power sources, grids, loads and storage, and optimize the operation and dispatch mechanism of oil and gas pipelines.
Improve the incentive system for green energy consumption. Enhance the total resource management and comprehensive conservation system, establish a new mechanism for the transformation from energy consumption control to carbon emission control. Improve the mechanism for clean and efficient utilization of coal. Improve policies and measures for the absorption and regulation of new energy, establish a price mechanism to encourage flexible power sources to participate in system regulation, implement the coal power capacity price mechanism, and study and establish a price formation mechanism for new energy storage. Improve the green power certificate trading system, promote the development of the green certificate market, and strengthen effective connections among power markets, green certificate markets, and carbon markets. Promote the transformation of terminal energy consumption from being dominated by electricity substitution to diversified and clean substitution with electricity, hydrogen, and ammonia, and make major energy-using sectors become important engines for energy transformation.
Strengthen the independent innovation system for the energy industry chain. Establish a major scientific and technological collaborative innovation system for clean and low-carbon energy, forming an energy technological innovation system that is market-oriented, led by national strategic scientific and technological forces, with enterprises as the main body, and deeply integrating industry, academia, research, and application. Accelerate the breakthrough of a number of key technologies for clean and low-carbon energy. Establish and improve the collaborative innovation mechanism for the clean and low-carbon energy industry chain, build a policy mechanism oriented by technological progress at the demand end, with efficient collaboration in the evaluation, transformation, and application of energy technological achievements, and through engineering integration and application to form advanced technologies and industrialization capabilities. Improve the scientific and technological incentive policies for energy green and low-carbon transformation, and explore the use of market-oriented methods to attract social capital to support large-scale, difficult-to-research strategic clean and low-carbon energy technology research and demonstration projects.
Strive to write a new chapter in the transformation and development of the energy sector
To fully build a modern socialist country, it is necessary to better balance development and security, take into account both the present and the future, accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system, promote the low-carbon transformation and high-quality development of energy, and provide strong energy support for China's modernization.
Strengthen the foundation for safe carbon reduction. Based on China's resource endowment, following the principle of establishing first and then breaking, and making overall plans, promote the stable and orderly transformation of energy. Give full play to the supporting role of fossil energy as the mainstay, strengthen the clean and efficient utilization of coal, and enhance the supporting and regulatory role in the energy carbon transition. Increase oil and gas exploration and development, and increase reserves and production. Ensure that domestic crude oil output remains at a level of 200 million tons for a long time and the self-sufficiency rate of natural gas is not lower than 50%. Improve the energy infrastructure network, optimize the pattern of power transmission from the west to the east and from the north to the south, and strengthen the construction and operation of the "national network" for oil and gas. Steadily promote the construction of coal production capacity reserves, accelerate the construction of supporting and regulating power sources, and enhance the ability to cope with various risks and challenges.
Increase the supply of non-fossil energy. Continuously expand the scale of utilization of non-fossil energy and build a high-level system for the consumption of new energy. Progressively promote the development of hydropower in major river basins, maintain the steady construction pace of nuclear power. Steadily advance the construction of large-scale new energy bases, optimize the planning and layout of offshore wind power bases, and vigorously promote distributed renewable energy systems. Ensure that new energy, regulating power sources, and power grid construction are integrated in terms of scale, layout, and timing. Enhance the ability of the power grid to accept, configure, and regulate clean energy, and maintain an annual increase of over 100 million kilowatts in the installed capacity of new energy. By 2030, achieve 70% of the new energy consumption to be supplied by non-fossil energy, and strive to increase the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption by 1 percentage point annually.
Promote energy conservation and carbon reduction on the consumption side. Promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional energy industries, enhance the clean and efficient utilization of coal, and optimize the policies for the utilization of natural gas. Take more vigorous measures to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction on the consumption side, vigorously implement energy conservation and carbon reduction actions in key fields such as industry, construction, and transportation, and reserve the energy space released for emerging industries, future industries, and areas related to people's livelihood. Carry out energy efficiency improvement actions in key industries and fields, accelerate the substitution of electricity in industries, construction, and transportation, strengthen the integration and interaction between new energy vehicles and the power grid, and achieve an end-use energy electrification level of about 30% by 2025. Further improve the green certificate system and continuously expand the consumption of green certificates and green electricity.
Strengthen green and low-carbon technological innovation and international cooperation. Focus on developing new productive forces, consolidate and expand the advantages in the new energy industry, strengthen technological innovation in large-scale wind power, high-efficiency photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy, and promote new breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies in areas such as advanced nuclear energy, new energy storage, and hydrogen energy. Promote the deep integration of advanced information technology with the energy industry, and accelerate the cultivation of new energy business models and new energy development patterns. High-quality promote green energy cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, actively promote the implementation of wind power, solar power generation, and smart grid projects, strengthen international alignment and mutual recognition of clean energy technologies and standards. Deeply participate in global energy governance, and build and operate well the "Belt and Road" Energy Partnership and the Global Clean Energy Partnership.
