The National Development and Reform Commission and other departments regarding

Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Implementing Renewable Energy Substitution Initiatives

National Development and Reform Commission Energy [2024] No. 1537

Development and Reform Commissions, departments in charge of industry and information technology, departments (committees, administrations, bureaus) of housing and urban-rural development, departments (bureaus, committees) of transportation, energy bureaus, and data management departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; as well as all branch offices of the National Energy Administration:

  To fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, to deeply carry out the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, to promote the development of a green, low-carbon, and circular economic system, and to foster the formation of green and low-carbon production and lifestyle patterns, we hereby issue the following guidelines for vigorously implementing an action plan to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.

  I. General Requirements

  We will vigorously promote the substitution of renewable energy sources, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and implement the new energy security strategy of “Four Revolutions and One Cooperation.” We will adhere to integrated planning and safe substitution, properly handle the relationship between “breaking” and “establishing” between conventional energy and new energy, and advance the integration of energy sources, grids, loads, and storage to comprehensively enhance the secure and reliable supply capacity of renewable energy. We will coordinate supply and demand, and promote orderly substitution by aligning renewable energy supply with green energy consumption in key sectors, accelerating incremental substitution, steadily expanding existing substitution, and cautiously advancing the orderly replacement of conventional fossil fuels with renewable energy. We will foster synergistic integration and diversified substitution by collaboratively promoting the integration of renewable energy with industries, transportation, buildings, agriculture, rural areas, and other sectors, and efficiently and economically advancing diversified development and substitution in power generation, heat supply, gas production, and hydrogen production. Driven by science and technology and innovation, we will vigorously promote pilot projects for breakthroughs in new technologies, innovate institutional mechanisms, and accelerate the cultivation of new scenarios, new models, and new business forms for renewable energy substitution. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, positive progress has been made in the substitution of renewable energy in key sectors, and by 2025, the nation’s renewable energy consumption will reach over 1.1 billion tons of standard coal equivalent. By the 15th Five-Year Plan period, production and lifestyles prioritizing the use of renewable energy across various sectors will be largely established. By 2030, the nation’s renewable energy consumption will reach over 1.5 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, providing strong support for achieving the 2030 carbon peak target.

  II. Focus on enhancing the capacity to safely and reliably replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.

  (1) Comprehensively enhance the capacity to supply renewable energy. Accelerate the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases, with a particular focus on desert, gobi, and barren regions, and promote cluster-based development of offshore wind power. Scientifically and orderly advance the construction of large-scale hydropower bases, and comprehensively promote integrated development of hydropower, wind power, and solar power. Develop distributed renewable energy sources close to their points of consumption. Steadily expand biomass power generation and promote the scaled-up development of concentrating solar power. Speed up the enhancement of capabilities in renewable energy resource assessment, power forecasting, and intelligent control. Promote the application of new technologies such as grid-forming new energy systems and long-term power forecasting. Develop green fuels—including biogas, biodiesel, and biojet fuel—tailored to local conditions, and actively and orderly advance hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. Promote the rational and efficient utilization of geothermal resources, and drive the large-scale deployment of wave energy, tidal energy, and temperature difference energy. Foster the establishment of a heating system that synergistically integrates renewable and conventional energy sources, enabling cascaded and comprehensive utilization.

  (2) Accelerate the development of supporting infrastructure for renewable energy. Promote iterative advancements in advanced technologies such as flexible DC transmission and AC/DC hybrid distribution networks, and expedite the construction of digital and intelligent power grids. Strengthen the alignment between renewable energy and power development plans, and foster coordinated development between grid and power sources. Upgrade and enhance the backbone grid structure, reinforce the construction of inter-provincial and inter-regional transmission channels, optimize scheduling and control mechanisms, and prioritize the dispatch of renewable energy power. Continuously refine the structure of distribution networks, accelerate the integration and intelligent upgrading of primary and secondary distribution networks, optimize distribution network scheduling mechanisms, enhance the flexibility and capacity of distribution networks, and support the rapid development of distributed renewable energy. Strengthen the construction and upgrading of infrastructure such as heating networks, gas pipelines, and hydrogen supply networks, enhance interconnectivity among these networks, and enable them to accommodate more non-electric renewable energy sources nearby.

  (3) Deeply tap into the potential of demand-side resource regulation. Actively broaden the scope of demand-response participants and accelerate the establishment of a demand-response resource database. Encourage demand-response participants with charging and discharging capabilities to participate in the electricity market. Support regions that meet the conditions to guide electricity users to adjust their consumption behavior through measures such as implementing peak-time electricity prices and widening the price range for spot-market limits. Strengthen demand-side management in key sectors including industry, buildings, and transportation, optimize processes and production flows, and encourage participation in power system regulation via interruptible loads and controllable loads.

  (4) Diversified enhancement of power system regulation capabilities. Strengthen the flexibility upgrades of coal-fired generating units, encourage captive power plants to actively participate in peak-shaving, optimize coal-power dispatching methods, and rationally determine dispatch sequences and peak-shaving depths. Study and promote the optimization and upgrading of large-scale hydropower stations, and steadily advance the construction of pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations. Intensify research and development of new energy storage technologies and their application across multiple scenarios. Promote concentrating solar power applications such as long-duration thermal energy storage, combined heat and power, and medium- and high-temperature heat utilization. Encourage biomass power generation projects to provide ancillary services, including peak-shaving support.

  III. Accelerate the promotion of renewable energy substitution applications in key areas.

  (5) Promote coordinated green and low-carbon transformation of industrial energy consumption. Scientifically guide the orderly relocation of industries to regions rich in renewable energy resources and capable of supporting such development from an environmental and resource perspective. Strengthen the integrated development of renewable energy with key industries including steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, building materials, textiles, and papermaking. Increase the proportion of short-process steelmaking and promote technologies such as electric boilers, electric kilns, and electric heating in key sectors including metallurgy, casting, building materials, daily-use glass, nonferrous metals, and chemical industry. Carry out integrated new-energy source-grid-load-storage projects in and around industrial parks and large-scale production enterprises, advance the construction and application of green microgrids for industry, directly supply green electricity, and replace coal-fired self-provided power plants. Accelerate the promotion of medium- and low-temperature thermal utilization of renewable energy in fields such as papermaking, dyeing and printing, and food processing. In sectors including synthetic ammonia, methanol synthesis, petrochemicals, and steel, encourage the large-scale substitution of high-carbon hydrogen with low-carbon hydrogen, and explore the establishment of integrated wind-solar-hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol bases. While ensuring adequate winter heating for residents, promote the closure and consolidation of coal-fired boilers within the heating scope of combined heat and power (CHP) units. Tailor measures to local conditions by promoting the retrofitting of biomass combustion technologies, and encourage the development of large-capacity coal-fired boilers co-firing green ammonia. Accelerate the integration of oil and gas exploration and development with renewable energy, and build low-carbon and zero-carbon oil and gas fields.

  (6) Accelerate the integration and interaction between transportation and renewable energy. Build renewable-energy-powered transportation corridors. Encourage the development of multi-functional integrated stations—combining photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, charging, and discharging—at highway rest areas, railway stations, bus terminals, airports, and ports where conditions permit. Speed up the development of electric passenger vehicles, steadily advance the electrification of buses, and explore the promotion and application of new-energy medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Actively explore the development of electrified highways and intensify efforts to upgrade railways to electric operation. Promote the use of shore power for ships when they are docked, and encourage pilot applications of green, electric, and intelligent vessels. Advance the use of sustainable aviation fuels and launch pilot operations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Gradually roll out pilot applications of green, clean liquid fuels for vehicles. Support regions with suitable conditions to carry out pilot operations of biodiesel, biojet fuel, biomethane, and green hydrogen-ammonia in the shipping and aviation sectors.

  (7) Deepen the integrated application of renewable energy in buildings. Incorporate the priority use of renewable energy into urban planning, construction, renovation, and upgrading. Promote the full implementation of green building standards for newly constructed urban buildings, continuously raising the requirements for substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy sources—such as electricity, heat, and gas. Popularize ultra-low-energy and nearly zero-energy buildings, develop near-zero-carbon buildings, and encourage the application of flexible electricity consumption technologies in buildings. Encourage the installation of photovoltaic systems on the rooftops of existing buildings, and promote the installation of photovoltaic systems wherever feasible in newly built industrial plants and public buildings. Fully electrify newly constructed public buildings, popularize electric heat pump water heaters and high-efficiency induction cookers as substitutes for coal- and gas-based appliances, and promote the use of high-efficiency DC electrical appliances and equipment. Actively promote solar thermal applications in regions with abundant solar resources and in buildings with stable hot-water demands. Based on local conditions, advance the deployment of geothermal energy, air-source heat pumps, and centralized biomass energy for heating and cooling. In remote areas, heating can be provided using locally sourced biomass molded fuel stoves, following the principle of utilizing locally available materials.

  (8) Fully support the clean and modernization of energy use in agriculture and rural areas. Actively develop distributed wind power and distributed photovoltaic power generation in rural areas where conditions permit. Promote the coordinated treatment of agricultural and forestry waste, livestock and poultry manure, and other organic rural wastes, and rationally plan biomass power generation projects, centralized biomass-based clean heating systems, and biogas projects. Accelerate the renovation and upgrading of rural energy infrastructure, and explore the development of microgrids. In regions where conditions are suitable, facilitate the integration of biogas into the natural gas pipeline network; promote centralized heating in towns and townships tailored to local conditions, prioritizing geothermal and solar energy for heating, and gradually reducing or even prohibiting the scattered burning of coal. Promote the electrification and upgrading of energy use in rural production and daily life, build rural energy stations, and enhance the capacity of public energy services in rural areas. In conjunction with digital village initiatives, elevate the level of smart energy use in rural areas, incorporate rural energy infrastructure construction into the rural project database, and carry out high-quality pilot projects for the rural energy revolution.

  (9) Coordinate the development and utilization of new infrastructure and renewable energy. Strengthen the construction of charging infrastructure, gas stations, and hydrogen refueling stations, and improve the charging network system in both urban and rural areas. Optimize the spatial layout of new infrastructure, and promote the integrated development of 5G base stations, data centers, supercomputing centers, and other such facilities with photovoltaic power, heat pumps, and energy storage technologies. Foster deep integration between artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and renewable energy. Support green electricity direct supply and integrated source-grid-load-storage projects for the development of new infrastructure; pilot green certificate and green electricity trading, and develop “green electricity parks”; and increase the proportion of new energy electricity consumption in strategic projects such as “East Data, West Computing.” Support regions with abundant cold-water resources within national hub nodes to build big data centers. Carry out the green technology upgrading of old base stations and “small, scattered, and outdated” data centers in an orderly manner. Promote a steady annual increase in the proportion of renewable energy used in newly built data centers.

  4. Actively promote pilot programs for innovation in renewable energy substitution.

  (10) Accelerate pilot applications. Carry out pilot projects for deep-sea floating offshore wind power and biogas projects with an annual production capacity of tens of millions of cubic meters, and promote the deep integration and coordinated operation of solar thermal, wind power, and photovoltaic energy. Conduct pilot programs for green direct power supply in factories and industrial parks, and advance pilot projects for grid-forming, off-grid, and self-sufficient renewable energy integrated utilization systems. Based on local resource conditions, promote the retrofitting of large coal-fired power boilers to incorporate co-firing of agricultural and forestry waste and other biomass combustion technologies. Encourage and guide the upgrading and replacement of renewable energy equipment as well as the recycling of end-of-life equipment and facilities. Promote the application of low-carbon and zero-carbon production processes and industrial process reengineering technologies in sectors such as steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, and building materials. Advance the promotion and application of hydrogen metallurgy and hydrogen-based chemical technologies. Foster integrated innovation in the photovoltaic-storage-communication industry, and explore pilot programs for integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging-discharging systems. Support parks, enterprises, and large public buildings to carry out pilot projects featuring high proportions of new energy sources in generation, supply, and consumption, significantly increasing the share of new energy electricity in overall consumption. In national and provincial-level economic development zones that have the necessary infrastructure, establish, through market-oriented approaches, green energy pilot parks where 100% of new energy consumption is supplied by renewable energy sources.

  (11) Promote integrated and innovative business models. Foster cross-sectoral integration of renewable energy with industries such as manufacturing, transportation, construction, agriculture, and forestry. Advance deep, three-dimensional development in areas like photovoltaic sand control, photovoltaic corridors, and marine ranches, thereby creating a new paradigm of deeply integrated, continuously substitutive, and innovative development. Support the growth and expansion of new types of market players, including digital energy providers, virtual power plants, and rural energy cooperatives, and cultivate new business models that are well-suited to clean, efficient, and secure energy transitions. Encourage innovation in business models that facilitate multi-variety, multi-sector, and multi-form substitution of renewable energy sources. Vigorously develop comprehensive energy services that enable efficient coordination between supply and demand, and accelerate the implementation of new business models such as vehicle-to-grid integration and electric-carbon asset management.

  V. Strengthen Guarantee Measures for Renewable Energy Substitution

  (12) Improve the legal, regulatory, and standard frameworks. Establish and refine laws and regulations that support the priority use of renewable energy, and in conjunction with revisions to the Energy Law, the Renewable Energy Law, the Electricity Law, and the Energy Conservation Law, clearly define the rights, obligations, and legal responsibilities of various stakeholders in the development and utilization of renewable energy. Accelerate the improvement of the relevant standards system in the renewable energy sector. In line with the revision and formulation of standards in key areas, integrate the substitution and utilization of renewable energy into the green and low-carbon development standards and regulatory frameworks across all sectors. Strengthen the implementation of standards and regulations, and promote evaluation of implementation effectiveness.

  (13) Improve the mechanism for green energy consumption. Fully implement the policy of excluding non-fossil energy sources from the overall energy consumption targets and intensity control requirements. Use green certificates as the fundamental evidence for accounting renewable energy electricity consumption, and strengthen the effective alignment between green certificates and energy-saving and carbon-reduction policies. Further refine the mechanism for assigning responsibility weights for renewable energy power consumption, assigning these responsibilities to key energy-consuming entities, and reinforce the mandatory requirement for high-energy-consuming enterprises to use green electricity. Accelerate the establishment of a green electricity consumption certification mechanism based on green certificates. Promote the integration of green certificates and green electricity with the national carbon market. Incorporate green electricity consumption requirements into green product evaluation standards, expand the catalog of certified green products, study and formulate policies supporting green products through government procurement, and encourage products primarily produced using green electricity to benefit from green finance policies and other related measures.

  (14) Implement fiscal and financial support policies for science and technology. Make good use of policies related to the promotion and application of first-of-its-kind (set) major technological equipment, as well as key special projects under the National Key Research and Development Program, to support the research and pilot application of critical technologies for renewable energy substitution. Establish and improve green finance mechanisms to encourage entities across various sectors to invest in renewable energy substitution, as well as in the construction and upgrading of related infrastructure. Encourage innovation in credit products and services, and provide long-term, stable financing support in accordance with market-oriented and rule-of-law principles.

  (15) Improve market and pricing mechanisms. Deepen the market-oriented reform of grid-connected electricity prices for new energy sources, and establish and refine trading mechanisms for medium- and long-term, spot, and ancillary services markets that are tailored to the characteristics of renewable energy. Support direct transactions between renewable energy generation projects and various types of users, as well as the signing of multi-year power purchase agreements with users. Promote fair participation of renewable energy generation or integrated utilization systems—those capable of providing ancillary services—in the ancillary services market. Establish and improve market mechanisms for renewable energy-based heating, biomethane, and clean, low-carbon hydrogen. Establish and refine pricing mechanisms for energy storage. For centrally located charging and battery-swapping facilities adopting a two-part tariff system, waive demand (capacity) charges for electricity consumption within a specified period. Steadily and orderly promote the participation of distributed renewable energy generation in market-based transactions, and facilitate local consumption of distributed renewable energy. Strengthen regulatory oversight over aspects such as equitable grid access, participation in electricity markets, and consumption and utilization of new energy sources.

  (16) Deepen and advance international cooperation. Strengthen green energy cooperation with countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen practical cooperation in the field of green energy, and promote the completion of a number of best-practice green energy projects. Establish an international statistical analysis platform for clean energy cooperation, and foster international collaboration on the research and development of advanced technologies and equipment for renewable energy applications in key sectors such as industry, transportation, construction, and agriculture and rural areas. Support exchanges on green certificates and green electricity with international organizations, and promote the global outreach of green certificates. Advance the Belt and Road Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, and carry out joint research, exchanges, and training programs.

  (17) Strengthen publicity and guidance. Mobilize the entire population to participate in the renewable energy substitution initiative, organize training sessions and pilot projects on the application of renewable energy in cities, rural areas, communities, and industrial parks, vigorously support the sales and use of renewable energy products, and encourage residents to adopt and promote a green lifestyle.

  Relevant departments at all levels—including those responsible for development and reform, energy, industry and information technology, transportation, housing and urban-rural development, agriculture and rural affairs, science and technology, finance, natural resources, ecological environment, finance, data, railways, and civil aviation—shall strengthen coordination and collaboration in accordance with their respective functions, enhance overall planning and coordination, and provide guidance and supervision to promote the implementation of these guidelines. All regions must fully recognize the importance and urgency of the renewable energy substitution initiative, and, based on their local economic and social development realities as well as the ongoing construction of a new power system, earnestly accelerate the pace of renewable energy substitution.

National Development and Reform Commission

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

Ministry of Transport

National Energy Administration

National Data Bureau

October 18, 2024