China ramps up efforts to build more wind, photovoltaic power plants to realize ‘dual carbon’ goals
As construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases accelerates across the country, China’s new-energy sector is expected to have greater growth potential this year amid the government’s ramped-up efforts to achieve “dual carbon” goals. In Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the construction of a wind power and photovoltaic base by China Huadian Corporation with a total installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts is now progressing in full swing. The project, which is among the first batch of large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases approved by the central government, is expected to generate 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity while saving consumption of 830,000 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions of 2.1 million tons after the project’s completion. All of the initial batches of such projects have thus far broken ground. The list of the second batch, which includes bases to be built in provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu, has been released. Experts believe that the promotion of new-energy bases in China will significantly spur the development of the new-energy industry.
In the first half of 2022, China’s installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power added 12.94 million kilowatts and 30.88 million kilowatts, accounting for 18.7 percent and 44.7 percent of total new capacity, respectively, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed. to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, the new-energy sector has become one of the few industries that features a high utilization rate without generating excess capacity, said Jiang Debin, an expert with the China Electricity Council. China’s central government is promoting a range of green technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, new-energy vehicles, green building construction, and many energy-saving products. A central role in the development of energy consumption in China is assigned to solar energy, which is expected to become the largest primary energy source by around 2045. The use of coal is planned to drop by 80 percent by 2060. Su Xinyi, an analyst with China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute, noted that the new-energy sector will continue its fast expansion in the second half of 2022.
China’s newly installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power for the entire year is expected to exceed 100 million kilowatts, while the consumption of power produced by the two energy sources is estimated to reach over 12.2 percent of total power consumption, Su said. In addition to boosting energy supply capacity, companies plan to double down on investments in projects including ultra-high voltage to improve the efficiency of new-energy consumption. The State Grid Corporation of China intends to inject 2.4 trillion yuan ($354.53 billion) into the power grid during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period (2021-2025) to advance the building of a new-energy consumption system in the country. China Southern Power Grid plans a fixed-asset investment of 125 billion yuan this year, which partly will be directed to building supporting power grid projects for new-energy transmission and pumped-storage hydroelectric projects.
Source: This news is originally published by globaltimes