Breaking News: Over 20 Trillion Yuan to Pour into Energy Projects Including Green Hydrogen Bases China's 15th Five-Year Plan

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration recently released the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a New Energy System. A press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office on June 26 elaborated on the plan’s key contents.

According to the conference, investment in key energy projects and emerging business formats during the 15th Five-Year Plan period will maintain steady growth, with an estimated total scale exceeding 20 trillion yuan.

All planned projects fall into three categories:

First, projects to strengthen energy security.

This category mainly covers oil and gas development, coal resources, flexible supporting power supplies, and coal-to-oil/gas conversion projects. Investment in these areas will register steady growth in the coming years.

Second, projects to advance green and low-carbon transition.

A ten-year initiative will be rolled out to double the installed capacity of non-fossil energy sources. Grid investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan will surge by over 30% compared with that in the 14th Five-Year Plan.

Third, projects to foster new quality productive forces.

A number of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol production bases will be deployed; more direct green power supply models for multi-industry consumers will be expanded; and new industrial forms and business models will be constructed, including advanced energy storage, integrated energy services, virtual power plants, and coordinated computing-power-power supply systems.

The National Energy Administration stated that fixed-asset investment in national power grids will surpass 5 trillion yuan throughout the 15th Five-Year Plan, with construction of a new power grid centered on three core priorities:

1. Upgrade the new grid architecture. A total of 15 extra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission corridors dedicated to renewable energy will be newly commissioned in the 15th Five-Year Plan, lifting the west-to-east power transmission capacity above 420 million kilowatts.

2. Conquer core new technologies. Accelerate the innovative application of grid-forming power generation and long-duration energy storage technologies, and launch an AI-plus-power grid initiative.

3. Launch upgraded new services. Continuously optimize grid connection and power delivery services for new energy, and drastically boost the power system’s peak regulation capacity.