The new generation coal-to-power upgrade special action has begun.

创建于04.22

On April 14, a reporter from the Economic Reference Daily learned from the National Energy Administration that the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration recently jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for the Special Action of Upgrading the New Generation of Coal-fired Power (2025-2027)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Plan"), which establishes and improves the technical indicator system for coal-fired power from four aspects: clean carbon reduction, safety and reliability, efficient regulation, and intelligent operation. At the same time, based on a comprehensive summary and evaluation of the effectiveness and beneficial experiences of the "Three Reforms Linkage" work, a batch of existing units will be promoted for renovation and upgrading, striving to comprehensively improve the indicator levels of newly built units and actively and orderly carry out pilot demonstrations of the new generation of coal-fired power. Industry analysis believes that the national flexibility transformation of thermal power will have a market space of over 10 billion yuan each year.

Accelerating the construction of a new power system is an important measure to support the "dual carbon" strategy, and the new generation of coal power is one of the main tasks in building this new power system. In our country, coal power accounts for less than 40% of installed capacity but provides about 60% of electricity generation, 70% of peak capacity, and nearly 80% of adjustment capacity, with atmospheric pollutant emissions reduced by over 90%. We have established the world's largest clean coal power supply system. At the same time, coal power is still the most economical and reliable thermal supply entity at this stage in our country, serving as an important thermal source guarantee for residential heating and industrial heat use.

“In recent years, the global energy landscape has undergone profound adjustments. Under the pressure of coordinating energy transition and ensuring supply security, it is necessary to have a clear understanding that our country's coal-fired power faces significant challenges for further profound transformation and development.” Relevant officials from the National Energy Administration pointed out that, on one hand, as the main source of carbon emissions in our country's energy and power sector, coal-fired power needs to adopt multiple measures to reduce its carbon emissions; on the other hand, during the process of profound changes in the structure and form of the power system, coal-fired power, as an important peak-shaving power source and inertia support source, still needs to further tap its flexible adjustment capabilities, enhance its deep peak-shaving, rapid ramp-up, primary frequency modulation, and start-stop peak-shaving capabilities, and continuously provide high-quality services for the construction of a new power system. To this end, it is necessary to proactively plan a new generation of coal-fired power strategic layout, using new generation coal-fired power technology as a representative of new productive forces, to promote the coal-fired power industry to explore new tracks and embark on a new journey.

Safety and reliability are the basic prerequisites for the upgrade of the new generation of coal-fired power. The "Implementation Plan" focuses on two evaluation indicators regarding safety and reliability: the compliance rate of declared output during the supply guarantee period and the number of unplanned outages during the supply guarantee period.

Efficient regulation is the core goal of the new generation of coal power upgrades. "The efficient regulation of the new generation of coal power is not only about the traditional sense of unit energy efficiency and deep peak shaving capability, but also expands to include six indicator requirements: power supply coal consumption, low-load coal consumption increase rate, minimum output for deep peak shaving, load change rate, primary frequency modulation, and start-stop peak shaving. Except for the minimum output for deep peak shaving and power supply coal consumption, the other four indicators are clearly defined for the first time in industrial policy," said a responsible person from the National Energy Administration.

Clean carbon reduction is an important direction for the upgrade of the new generation of coal-fired power. The "Implementation Plan" does not mandate all units to carry out low-carbon transformation construction. The pilot demonstration clearly defines the quantitative indicators for carbon emissions intensity per kilowatt-hour, actively promoting the low-carbon transformation of existing units, and new units should focus on researching and reserving conditions for low-carbon transformation, encouraging those that meet the conditions to implement low-carbon construction simultaneously.

Intelligent operation is an important support for the upgrade of the new generation of coal power. The "Implementation Plan" proposes that the new generation of coal power should focus on three evaluation indicators: intelligent control, intelligent operation and maintenance, and intelligent decision-making.

According to reports, the next step is for relevant departments to organize and carry out a special action for the upgrade of the new generation of coal-fired power. By 2027, in areas where it is difficult to meet the rapid adjustment needs of the power grid, a batch of coal-fired units with rapid load-changing capabilities will be renovated and newly built; in areas where there is a shortfall in peak regulation, a batch of coal-fired units with deep peak regulation capabilities and wide load efficient adjustment capabilities will be renovated and newly built; based on regional characteristics and resource endowments, promote the low-carbon transformation and construction of coal-fired power. Encourage localities and power generation enterprises to implement a batch of coal-fired units that possess the above capabilities effectively.

Relevant support policies will also be strengthened and improved. The "Implementation Plan" clarifies that support for renovation and construction will be increased. Support will be provided for energy-saving and carbon-reduction renovation and construction projects in the coal and electricity sector that meet the conditions of "two new" and other criteria. Support will be given to eligible coal-fired power generation projects to issue Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in the infrastructure sector, facilitating the "investment, financing, management, and exit" channels to promote a virtuous cycle of investment. At the same time, support will be provided for the renovation and upgrading of existing coal-fired power units, new units, and new generation coal power pilot demonstration units to implement joint operations with new energy, encouraging priority grid connection for joint operation new energy projects.

Huatai Securities research report points out that the flexibility transformation of coal-fired power is one of the lower-cost varieties among the existing flexibility resources in China's power system. If the flexibility transformation is fully implemented, it is expected to release 56 gigawatts (GW) of flexibility adjustment space by 2027. If further promotion of peak shaving and load shifting is carried out, there could be more than 400 GW of flexibility resources that can be released in the medium to long term, facilitating the absorption of new energy. The annual market space for national coal-fired power flexibility transformation is optimistic at 160 million kilowatts or an annual market space of 10 to 20 billion yuan.