The NEA maps out clarified goals in the post after the acceleration of building a new energy system characterised by a “green, low-carbon, safe, and efficient” structure was identified as a key priority for China’s economic work earlier this month. Together with the State Council’s directives to improve the national electricity market system, these initiatives outline a clear roadmap for China’s energy transition, with the two actions functioning in parallel as targets and measures, some market insiders believe.
The concept of this new energy system, led by renewable energy sources with fossil fuels as a key backup, initially took shape in October 2022, and it has evolved over the past three years to find a better balance between the country’s energy security and its green transition.
One of the goals under the scheme in the 15th FYP period is to optimise the energy mix, with new energy leading power capacity installations and non-fossil fuels expected to account for 25 per cent of total energy consumption. Meanwhile, the share of electricity in final energy consumption is scheduled to rise by 1 percentage point each year, according to Ren Yuzhi, director of the Planning Department of the NEA.
Non-fossil fuels refer to hydro, wind, solar, biomass, ocean and geothermal energy and nuclear power, while fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas that are unrecoverable, Mysteel Global notes.