On April 20, 2026, a themed study on energy continued throughout the afternoon in the State Council conference room of Zhongnanhai. After Tang Guangfu, an academician of the CAE Member, finished his explanation, Premier Li Qiang's speech led the topic from the technical route to a deeper institutional mechanism. When the international energy market is still volatile due to geopolitical conflicts, the signal released by this conference is clear and urgent: China's energy bowl not only needs to be stable, but also needs to be equipped with green cores.

Wind, solar, water and nuclear power bases are accelerating comprehensively

Li Qiang explicitly requested to accelerate the construction of the three major clean energy bases of northwest wind and photovoltaic, southwest hydropower, and eastern offshore wind power, vigorously develop distributed photovoltaic and decentralized wind power, and develop biomass energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy according to local conditions. The ten-year doubling action of non fossil energy has been included in the outline of the 15th Five Year Plan, and the structural shift of energy production has entered an acceleration period.

Coal power shifts to a role of bottom line regulation

The positioning of fossil fuels has been recalibrated. Active coal-fired power units will accelerate energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation, shifting from primary power sources to both basic and system regulated power sources. This means that coal-fired power is no longer pursuing full power generation, but rather providing support during fluctuations in wind and solar power output and filling in during peak electricity consumption, forming a synergistic rather than substitution relationship with new energy. Keywords: Strategic News Network, New Energy Transformation

Replacing the power grid with an artificial intelligence brain

The construction of a new power grid is endowed with three connotations: new architecture, new technology, and new services. The optimization of transmission channel layout, strengthening of backbone network, construction of new distribution system, and synchronized investment in energy storage and charging facilities will be promoted, and artificial intelligence will fully empower the digital transformation of the power grid. More importantly, institutional breakthroughs will be made - the construction of a unified national electricity market will accelerate, with access, regulation, and pricing mechanisms benchmarking the direction of the new energy system, allowing the green value of green electricity to be truly realized through the market.Editor/Gao Xue