China has unveiled a new medium-term energy strategy targeting renewable energy to account for 30% of the country’s electricity generation by 2030 as part of its 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Energy System.
The plan, jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA), outlines China’s energy transition priorities over the next five years, with a strong emphasis on renewable energy, electrification, energy storage and grid flexibility.
Expanding Renewable Energy
The roadmap calls for accelerated deployment of both centralised and distributed renewable energy projects while promoting greater integration across different energy sources and applications.
China plans to continue large-scale expansion of onshore wind and solar power while advancing offshore wind into deeper offshore waters.
The plan also supports the commercial-scale development of concentrated solar power and marine energy technologies.
By 2030, wind and solar are expected to account for more than 50% of the country’s installed electricity generation capacity.
Electric Vehicles Become Grid Assets
A key element of the strategy is the integration of electric vehicles into the power system through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies.
The government aims to utilise the storage capacity of China’s electric vehicle fleet by promoting smart charging and closer interaction between vehicles, charging infrastructure and the electricity grid.
By 2030, aggregated adjustable charging capacity from vehicle-grid interaction is targeted to reach approximately 50GW.
China also plans to accelerate deployment of virtual power plants, with total regulating capacity expected to exceed 50GW by the end of the decade.
Charging infrastructure will continue expanding, with the number of charging points targeted to reach 40 million by 2030.
Broader Energy Transition Goals
The plan sets several additional targets for 2030, including increasing the share of non-fossil energy to 25% of total energy consumption and 50% of electricity generation.
During the same period, China expects coal and oil consumption to reach their peak before declining.
Energy storage also features prominently in the strategy.
The government aims to expand pumped-storage hydropower capacity to approximately 160GW while increasing new-type energy storage capacity to 300GW.
Nuclear and Hydrogen Development
China also intends to continue expanding nuclear power using primarily third-generation pressurised water reactor technology.
Operational nuclear generating capacity is targeted to reach approximately 110GW by 2030.
The strategy also promotes the development of hydrogen and green fuel industries, with renewable energy-based hydrogen production expected to reach 2 million tonnes annually by the end of the decade.
The plan positions renewable energy, flexible electricity systems and low-carbon technologies as central pillars of China’s long-term energy transition and power system development.