What does it mean to install more renewable energy than coal power



The increasing installed capacity of renewable energy puts higher requirements on the transmission and regulation capacity of the power system. Although the installed scale of renewable energy has exceeded coal power, there is still a gap between the power generation of renewable energy and coal power, and energy security is still inseparable from the support of coal power in the short term.

The energy transition has once again ushered in a highlight moment. By the end of 2022, China's renewable energy installed capacity reached 1.213 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47.3% of the country's total installed power generation capacity, officially exceeding the national coal power installed capacity. Renewable energy generation reached 2.7 trillion KWH, accounting for 31.6% of the entire society's electricity consumption, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of EU countries in 2021. The installed capacity of renewable energy has historically exceeded that of coal power, which not only strengthens the foundation of green and low-carbon energy transformation, but also poses new challenges to the construction of a new power system.

Behind the swap of the installed capacity of renewable energy and coal power is a great achievement in the history of human energy development. In 2022, China's new installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power generation exceeded 100 million kilowatts for three consecutive years, hitting a new record high. Wind power and photovoltaic power generation exceeded 1 trillion KWH for the first time, approaching the domestic electricity consumption of urban and rural residents across the country. On the main stream of the Yangtze River, the world's largest "clean energy corridor" connected by six giant cascade hydropower stations has been opened. New models and new forms of business such as photovoltaic sand control, agriculture + photovoltaic, and hydrogen production from renewable energy continue to emerge. In the global renewable energy carbon dioxide emission reduction, the contribution rate of China's manufacturing equipment is more than 40%.

The increasing installed capacity of renewable energy puts higher requirements on the transmission and regulation capacity of the power system. China's energy consumption and resources show the reverse distribution of east and west, and the large-scale deployment of electric energy in the country is inevitable. Before 2018, due to the mismatch between the development of new energy and the absorption capacity of the power system, the problem of wind and light abandonment was prominent, resulting in a large amount of resource waste. Since then, the National Energy Administration has formulated a "three-year action plan for clean energy consumption", and from 2018 to 2020, wind and light abandonment has improved year by year, and the utilization rate of wind power photovoltaic has increased significantly.

In order to adapt to the rapid development of new energy, the power system will evolve in the direction of flexible activation, networking and intelligence. Due to the randomness, volatility, intermittent and other characteristics of new energy, once the wind power, photovoltaic output has declined significantly, it is very likely to bring power safety risks, so the installed new energy must be matched with the regulation of power supply. At present, the installed capacity of flexible power sources such as pumped storage and gas power generation accounts for less than 6% in China. In the future, thermal power units with deep peak load capacity, natural gas peak load power stations, pumped storage power stations, and a variety of new energy storage, including electrochemical energy storage and compressed air energy storage, will play a big role. In order to ensure the delivery of new energy, UHV construction, distribution network transformation and intelligent upgrading will also speed up.

The installed capacity of renewable energy exceeds that of coal power, which means that the role of coal power will gradually change. Although the installed scale of renewable energy has exceeded coal power, but because the power generation hours of new energy such as wind power, photovoltaic power generation is much lower than coal power, resulting in a gap between the power generation of renewable energy and coal power, energy security is still inseparable from coal power support in the short term. In the medium and long term, the role of coal power will be transformed from the main power supply to the basic support and system regulation power supply that provides auxiliary services such as reliable capacity and peak and frequency regulation. At present, coal power energy saving and carbon reduction transformation, flexibility transformation, heating transformation "three reform linkage" has been in full swing, for China such a coal country, "double carbon" journey, speed up the construction of new energy at the same time can not waste coal power. As the proportion of new energy continues to increase, the demand for flexible transformation of coal power will be further released.

The installed capacity of renewable energy exceeds that of coal power, which means restructuring the market mechanism. Historically, through multiple rounds of power system reform, China has solved the contradictions of insufficient power supply, weak power grid, and power consumption, and promoted the rapid development of the power industry and economic society. To achieve the goal of "double carbon" requires more diversified energy varieties and market entities to cooperate, which puts forward new tasks and new requirements for deepening the construction of the power market. Not only the theoretical basis and trading rules of the power market need to be reconstructed, but also the difficulty of coordinating the interests of market entities is increasing, and the trading rules and values of the power market are becoming more complex. The different values of all kinds of resources need to be reflected in the market. It is necessary to further deepen the reform of the electricity market to achieve a green and low-carbon transition at the best cost and ensure sustainable electricity supply.

An era of renewable energy also means that everyone can become an energy producer. In the era of traditional fossil energy, energy production is highly concentrated and capital intensive, and it is difficult for ordinary people to participate in energy production. Renewable energy is widely distributed, flexible layout, low marginal cost, and strong personal accessibility, and now rooftop photovoltaic has become an important way for ordinary people to participate in energy production. With the progress of technology and the continuous reduction of costs, the popularity of home energy storage, small fans, and two-way charging piles, everyone has the opportunity to become an important unit of power system balance in the future, which will bring major changes to our lives, and will also give birth to new business opportunities and economic growth points.

In short, the installed scale of renewable energy beyond coal power is a milestone, which means that the construction of new energy system has entered a new stage. The "14th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical period for China to accelerate the green and low-carbon energy transformation and implement the nationally determined contribution to address climate change. We should seize the opportunities of The Times and further promote the high-quality development of renewable energy on the basis of the leap-forward development of the "13th Five-Year Plan".