Promoting the Rise of New Energy! China has put into operation new energy storage projects with an installed capacity exceeding 8.7 million kilowatts.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to intensify the planning and construction of a new energy supply and consumption system based on large-scale wind and solar power bases, supported by clean, efficient, and advanced energy-efficient coal power plants in their vicinity, and facilitated by stable, safe, and reliable ultra-high voltage transmission lines. Since the beginning of this year, with the vigorous promotion of a number of major energy projects, the supply capacity of new energy has continuously increased, and the level of consumption has steadily improved, accelerating the pace of constructing China's new energy system.
Currently, many parts of the country are experiencing high temperatures, but despite the continuous increase in electricity load, the power supply and demand are basically balanced. In the hall of the National Power Dispatch and Control Center, it was learned that clean energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaics accounted for nearly 30% of the power supply this summer, becoming an important guarantee for reliable power supply.
This achievement is inseparable from the enhancement of China's new energy supply capacity and the improvement of consumption level. From January to May, China's cumulative installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaics exceeded 800 million kilowatts, maintaining the world's leading position in terms of installed capacity of new energy. The utilization rates of wind power and photovoltaic power reached 96.6% and 98%, respectively.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the development of China's energy sector, focusing on promoting China's modernization and aligning with the global trend of low-carbon energy transformation. He creatively proposed a new energy security strategy and personally guided the energy revolution. He emphasized the need to accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system, give greater prominence to promoting the development of new and clean energy, increase the supply and consumption capacity of new energy, and provide directions for the leapfrog development of new energy and renewable energy.
Nowadays, focusing on desert, Gobi, and barren areas, seven major new energy bases are taking shape in the upstream of the Yellow River and the Hexi Corridor. Five offshore wind power bases, such as the Shandong Peninsula and the Yangtze River Delta, are being developed relying on abundant offshore wind resources. In addition, two comprehensive water and wind power bases, centered in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, and in Southeast Tibet and Southeastern China, are under accelerated construction, relying on the hydropower bases in the southwest region.
Wang Dapeng, Deputy Director of the New Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, stated that the construction of large-scale new energy bases is of paramount importance to the development of renewable energy in the 14th Five-Year Plan period. These major projects will play the role of "the main force" and "the mainstay" in the construction of China's new energy system, continuously enhancing the stable and sufficient supply capacity of new energy and promoting the rapid rise of new energy.
To ensure the effective utilization of new energy, this year has seen accelerated improvement in the regulatory policy system for renewable energy, as well as continuous enhancement of research on new power systems, energy storage, and hydrogen energy standards. Comprehensive efforts are being made from policy, technology, and mechanism aspects to promote the construction of the new energy consumption system.
Recently, the ±800-kilovolt ultra-high voltage direct current project from Baihetan to Zhejiang has been put into operation in full, raising the transmission capacity to 8 million kilowatts. Currently, two energy "air corridors" have been established around the Baihetan Hydropower Station, forming a transmission capacity of 16 million kilowatts. The clean energy from Baihetan Hydropower Station can be massively delivered.
In the first half of this year, three ultra-high voltage transmission lines were launched in China. The first is the ultra-high voltage transmission project for the "Shage Desert" wind and solar power base and the world's highest-altitude ultra-high voltage direct current transmission project. The construction of these projects has enhanced the cross-regional transmission capacity of new energy. As of now, more than 30 ultra-high voltage transmission lines have been completed and put into operation in China, initially forming a situation of "transmitting power from the west to the east and supplying power from the north to the south," with a cross-province and cross-region transmission capacity exceeding 300 million kilowatts.
In addition, this year, China has also increased efforts to promote energy storage construction. New energy storage installations such as lithium-ion battery energy storage and compressed air energy storage have continued to grow. Currently, the installed capacity of new energy storage projects nationwide has exceeded 8.7 million kilowatts.
Tao Ye, Deputy Director of the Renewable Energy Center at the China Macroeconomic Research Institute Energy Research Institute, said that as the construction of the new energy supply and consumption system accelerates, the green foundation of China's new energy system is basically formed, promoting the transition of China's main energy sources from fossil fuels to non-fossil fuels and consolidating the foundation of China's energy security.
The latest data shows that the proportion of non-fossil fuel electricity generation capacity in China now accounts for 50.9% of the total installed capacity, exceeding fossil fuels for the first time in history. The National Energy Administration predicts that this year, wind power and photovoltaic installations will increase by approximately 160 million kilowatts, and the proportion of electricity generated will reach 15.3% of the total social electricity consumption. The energy consumption per unit of GDP will decrease by about 2% year-on-year, resulting in a more secure, greener, and more efficient energy supply.
