Seminar on Local High-Quality Development of Renewable Energy and Power System Transformation under the 15th Five-Year Plan

On June 10th, the seminar on Local High-Quality Development of Renewable Energy and Power System Transformation under the 15th Five-Year Plan was co-hosted by the Tsinghua-CTG Joint Center for Climate Governance and Low-Carbon Transformation (JCGLT) and iGDP, with the Climate Change and Energy Transition Program of Institute of Energy (CCETP) as a co-organizer. The event brought together over 40 experts in power systems, industry experts from key coal-power provinces, and enterprise representatives from across the country. The discussions focused on the transformation of China’s power system in the context of dual carbon goals. The seminar addressed how local areas can respond to the rapid growth in electricity demand, achieve high-quality development of renewable energy, and optimize the power system through policy innovation and technological breakthroughs, achieving green transformation. Policy such as the revision of the Renewable Energy Law, the implementation details of Document 136 and Document 394 also became hot topics of discussion. The specific practices and challenges faced by local areas in green certificate trading, energy storage development, and coal-power transformation provided valuable insights. During the discussions, the capacity mechanism was considered essential for ensuring the construction of resources to maintain system security and flexibility, while coal-power transformation needs to be driven by local resources and technological innovation. For example, in Shandong, coal-power units face multiple tasks, and the local authorities must develop non-coal flexible resources to support the orderly exit of coal power. To address the challenges in absorbing green electricity in the northwest region, experts suggested improving energy storage facilities and linking the carbon market. In Guangdong, strengthening grid resilience is necessary to cope with the challenges brought by the increasing share of renewable energy. Additionally, experts discussed the Renewable Energy Law. They called for legal revisions to clarify policies, guide investment, and boost renewable energy development. The meeting proposed that by strengthening the integration of policy guidance, technological innovation, and local practices, China's power system can navigate challenges and achieve a smooth transition in meeting its dual carbon goals. This seminar provided an efficient platform for communication on the high-quality development of renewable energy and power system transformation during the 15th Five-Year plan period. Experts and enterprise representatives exchanged ideas through policy interpretation, market analysis, technical prospects, and experience sharing, identifying challenges and opportunities in the transformation process, and promoting inter-regional and industry-wide exchanges and cooperation.