Energy system rejig on AI demand

China's energy system will become significantly more secure, resilient, and structurally optimized over the next five years, driven by over 20 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) in planned investments for key energy projects and emerging sectors, top authorities said.

Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration, stated that the nation's comprehensive energy production capacity will reach 5.8 billion metric tons of standard coal by 2030. This will bolster self-reliance while ensuring that energy imports remain diversified and controllable.

China's installed power capacity, which recently surpassed 4 billion kilowatts, is projected to hit 5.4 billion kW by 2030, Wang said during a news conference held in Beijing on Friday.

By then, new energy sources will account for over half of both the total installed capacity and power generation, solidifying their role as the primary power source as coal and oil consumption peak, he said.

This massive capacity expansion is designed not only to replace traditional fuels but also to accommodate the surging electricity demand driven by the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector.

"For example, generating a five-second high-definition video using artificial intelligence consumes as much electricity as charging 10 smartphones," Wang said.

"In response to this explosive growth, we will coordinate the allocation of energy resources with the construction of computing infrastructure, and advancing the synergy between computing and power supply across multiple dimensions."

China will closely align national computing hubs with large renewable bases in the western regions, while simultaneously promoting distributed power, microgrids, and virtual power plants in the east to meet localized computing needs, he said.

Meeting these soaring digital and industrial demands will rely heavily on green power. According to the NEA, while non-fossil fuels accounted for 45 percent of the energy consumption increment during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, this proportion will further rise during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

The government aims to meet newly added electricity demand primarily through clean energy by developing a mix of wind, solar, hydropower, and nuclear power, it said.

"China's power supply during the 15th Five-Year Plan period will completely bid farewell to the fossil-fuel-dominated pattern, with renewable energy further accelerating its transition to become the primary energy source," said Yi Yuechun, general manager of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute.

"In terms of ensuring energy supply, renewable energy has already become the main contributor to the country's domestic energy increments," Yi added.

To support this transition, non-fossil capacity will exceed 3.5 billion kW by the end of the decade, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2025, according to NEA spokesperson Ren Yuzhi.

Wind and solar power alone will account for over 2.8 billion kW. Traditional energy sectors will also undergo green transformations, including the implementation of next-generation coal power upgrades, he said.

According to the NEA, a modernized grid is the core pillar of this new energy architecture, particularly as the massive influx of renewables poses challenges to pricing mechanisms and cross-regional mutual assistance.

During the next five-year period, national grid fixed asset investment is expected to exceed 5 trillion yuan, while the country will also add 15 new ultra-high-voltage (UHV) direct current corridors for green power, boosting the West-to-East transmission scale to over 420 million kW.

Furthermore, sweeping upgrades to distribution networks and smart microgrids will support the charging needs of over 110 million electric vehicles, it said.

The continuous modernization of grid infrastructure is radically enhancing the nationwide allocation of renewable resources, noted Ye Xiaoning, a senior engineer at the State Grid Energy Research Institute.

A sprawling UHV network, which efficiently dispatches power across vast distances, serves as the backbone of this transformation and is fundamentally reshaping China's energy landscape, Ye said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn