POWER January 2012 - 51

POWER IN CHINA
siderably before 2020 because of technology
and economic concerns.
National Grid Energy Research Institute
(NGERI) has completed a study of several
scenarios of the coordinated development of
clean energy and power systems during the
12th Five-Year Plan, particularly with regard
to energy security and economy. The results
2. Coal resources in China, by province (2001). Source: Wikimedia Commons
of the study showed that China's total installed
capacity is expected to soar to 1,786 GW by
2020. The installed capacity of renewable energy
will reach about 600 GW by 2020 (Table
1), according to the National Development and
Reform Commission. Renewable energy will
increase in overall percentage from 26.54% in
2010 to 34% in 2020.
It should be noted that the construction
period for nuclear power and hydro power is
very long. Thus, it is very critical for China to
construct and place into operation a number
of clean energy generation projects during
the 12th Five-Year Plan period.
0 - 1,000 Mt
1,000 - 10,000 Mt
10,000 - 50,000 Mt
50,000 - 100,000 Mt
100,000 - 250,000 Mt
3. Balancing supply and demand. The gap between installed capacity and electricity
consumption in east China is increasing over time. Source: China Electricity Council
Installation capacity
60
55
50
45
40
35
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
4. Coal by wire. The Guangxi Fangchenggang Power Station is the largest power project in
Guangxi Province in southern China. The plant is located in the Beibu Wan Economic Zone and
supplies power to the developing region and to the West to East electricity transmission system
via the China Southern Grid. Courtesy: CLP Holdings Ltd.
Electricity consumption
Goal 2: Optimize Production of
Coal-Fired Electricity
The installed capacity of thermal power in
China is 710 GW, 54% of which is in the electric
load center of east China, and only 19% in
the coal-rich regions in central and west China
(Figure 2). The Plan requires accelerating the
optimization of coal-fired power as essential for
sustainable development of the power industry,
or " local balance. " The largest challenge is that
China's coal-fired electricity distribution system
lacks inter-provincial transmission capability. In
addition, coal must be shipped by train from
coal-rich regions to plants in the eastern areas,
where air and acid rain pollution are severe. As
expected, coal transport delays and downtime
are frequent, threatening the security and stability
of power systems as well as sustainable
economic development.
Electricity demand will grow rapidly in
China for a long time into the future. From
the perspective of power demand distribution,
consumption growth in the regions of Jin,
Shan, Meng, and Ning in western China will
be larger than in the eastern regions. From the
perspective of the absolute level of electricity
consumption, the proportion of consumption
in supply-side regions may increase gradually,
but regional distribution patterns will not fundamentally
change. The absolute consumption
gap between supply-side regions and demandside
regions will continue to increase (Figure
3). Therefore, accelerating the construction of
coal-based generation is imperative in order
to rationalize the location of coal-fired power
and achieve greater overall economic and social
benefits (Figure 4).
The technical feasibility of ultra-high-voltage
(UHV) transmission has been verified
with the successful operation of several UHV
AC and DC demonstration projects. UHV can
improve the economic effectiveness of transmission
greatly. It can economically connect
the energy base in the northwestern areas
to the primary energy consumption areas in
the east: The floor price of UHV transmission
is 0.03 to 0.10 yuan/kWh (0.40 to 1.57
cents/kWh), lower than the cost of transportJanuary
2012 | POWER
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POWER January 2012

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