People's Daily | How to Continuously Optimize and Adjust the Energy Structure

The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, greening, and growth in a coordinated manner, and to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. This year's Government Work Report proposed to actively and steadily advance carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

Energy is an important material foundation and driving force for economic and social development, and it is also the main battlefield for advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

By the end of 2024, China's installed capacity of renewable energy power generation reached 1.889 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 24.6%, and the installed capacity accounted for more than half for two consecutive years. At the same time, a number of major hydropower projects have been approved and constructed, the operating and under-construction scale of nuclear power has risen to the world's first, a new power system is accelerating its construction, and transformation and reform continue to maintain a global lead.

Wang Hongzhi, director of the National Energy Administration, introduced that adhering to green and low-carbon transformation and continuously promoting the optimization and adjustment of the energy structure, the following work will be focused on in 2025:

Vigorously promote the development and utilization of wind power and photovoltaic power generation. Actively promote the construction of the second and third batches of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases in "desert, gobi, and wasteland". Accelerate the development of offshore wind power. Actively develop distributed photovoltaics and decentralized wind power, and promote the large-scale development of solar thermal power generation. Effectively implement pilot programs for resource surveys of wind power and photovoltaic power generation, coordinate the development of new energy, reasonable utilization rates, and system adjustment capabilities, and strive to promote the high-quality consumption of new energy. Add about 200 million kilowatts of wind power and photovoltaic power generation capacity throughout the year, and the consumption of renewable energy will exceed 1.1 billion tons of standard coal.

Coordinate hydropower development and ecological protection. Actively and steadily promote the development of major hydropower projects, formulate development and construction plans for hydropower in the Yangtze River Basin, and promote the planning and construction of integrated water, wind, and photovoltaic power generation bases in major river basins. Orderly promote the planning and construction of pumped storage hydropower projects.

Actively, safely, and orderly develop nuclear power. Approve the commencement of a number of coastal nuclear power projects that meet the conditions, and steadily promote the construction of ongoing nuclear power projects. By the end of 2025, the installed capacity of operating nuclear power plants will reach about 65 million kilowatts. Consolidate the main responsibilities of enterprises, ensure the safe and stable operation of operating nuclear power units, and further enhance the resilience and security level of the nuclear power industry chain and supply chain.

Coordinate and promote the construction of a new power system. Approve the construction of a number of key power interconnection projects, and actively promote the approval and commencement of power transmission channels such as the ones from Inner Mongolia to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, from southeastern Tibet to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, from the Badanjilin Desert base in Gansu Province to Sichuan, and from southern Xinjiang to Sichuan and Chongqing. Implement special actions for optimizing the adjustment capacity of the power system, high-quality development of distribution networks, and upgrading of the new generation of coal-fired power plants, and promote pilot programs for grid-type technologies, system-friendly new energy power plants, and the synergy between computing and electricity. Strengthen pilot demonstrations and scheduling applications of new energy storage. Accelerate the development of virtual power plants, and conduct large-scale pilot applications of vehicle-grid interaction.

"2025 and the 14th Five-Year Plan period are key periods to accelerate the construction of a new energy system, promote high-quality development of energy, and ensure high-level security." Wang Hongzhi said that energy work will adhere to technological innovation as the guide, system reform as the driving force, safety and sufficiency as the premise, and economic feasibility as the basis to promote greater achievements in the implementation of the new energy security strategy. (Ding Yiting)