Faced with the explosive growth of new energy installed capacity, State Grid Corporation of China has officially announced its hard core measures during the 15th Five Year Plan period, aiming to open up the main artery of energy transmission, so that every kilowatt hour of green electricity can be "generated, delivered, and used well".

Upgrade the main artery of the power grid again

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, State Grid Corporation of China will make strengthening power grid construction a key task and focus on enhancing its ability to optimize and allocate resources on a large scale. According to the plan, State Grid Corporation of China will strive to put into operation 15 ultra-high voltage direct current projects, which will increase cross provincial transmission capacity by 35% and expand regional flexible mutual aid capacity by more than twice.

The operation of this series of projects will build a stronger and more intelligent transmission network, meeting the large-scale optimization and configuration needs of new energy. This means that in the future, wind power on the northwest Gobi Desert and hydropower in the southwest canyon will be more efficiently transmitted to the eastern load center thousands of miles away, effectively solving the problem of new energy "nest power".

Significant improvement in regulatory ability

New energy has the characteristics of volatility and intermittency, and how to make the power grid "swallow and store" is the key. State Grid will focus on accelerating the construction of system regulation capacity, among which pumped storage energy, as an important regulation resource, will further accelerate its development pace.

It is expected that by 2030, the installed capacity of pumped storage power stations in operation and under construction within the State Grid operating area will exceed 120 million kilowatts. At that time, the proportion of new energy generation in the operating area is expected to reach over 30%, and the system's carrying capacity for new energy will be significantly enhanced. These pumped storage power stations are like the "super power banks" of the power grid, storing electricity during low demand periods and discharging during high demand periods, effectively smoothing out fluctuations in new energy.

New mechanism for green electricity consumption

In addition to upgrading hardware facilities, State Grid will also make efforts in market mechanisms. In order to stimulate the vitality of green electricity consumption from the demand side, State Grid Corporation of China stated that it will actively expand the scale of green electricity trading and effectively undertake the full participation of new energy in the electricity market.

The future demand for new electricity consumption will mainly be met by new energy generation, guiding the whole society to form a green production and lifestyle, and promoting the continuous optimization of energy consumption structure. Zhang Ke, Deputy Director of the Development Department of State Grid Corporation of China, said, "We will accelerate the integration of national and local, power and grid planning, strengthen the coordinated planning and construction of regional main grids, distribution networks, and smart microgrids, actively serve the development of new entities, and ensure that the annual average of no less than 200 million kilowatts of new energy is connected to the grid and efficiently consumed during the 15th Five Year Plan period

The ten measures released this time cover multiple key aspects such as power grid construction, planning guidance, resource regulation, and market mechanisms. Through the implementation of these measures, State Grid expects to effectively support the sustained and rapid development of new energy during the 15th Five Year Plan period and until 2030, promote the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient modern energy system, and contribute to the achievement of the dual carbon goals.Editor/Yang Meiling