News Details

• 2020-04-15
• Industry Trends

It's here! The National Energy Administration has issued a document to launch the drafting of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development.

On April 15, the National Energy Administration issued a notice on matters related to the preparation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development.

The General Office of the National Energy Administration's Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Development of Renewable Energy during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

Notice on matters related to the planning process

(Guoneng Zongtong Xineng [2020] No. 29)

Energy bureaus of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; development and reform commissions of relevant provinces (municipalities); State Grid Corporation of China, China Southern Power Grid Company Limited, Inner Mongolia Power Company Limited; Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission; Environmental Engineering Assessment Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Wind and Solar Energy Resources Center of China Meteorological Administration; National Geothermal Energy Center; China Hydropower Engineering Consulting Group Corporation; China Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute Corporation; Wind Energy Committee; Photovoltaic Energy Committee; and relevant research institutions:

To promote the high-quality development of the renewable energy industry, effectively carry out the "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development, ensure the consistency between national and local plans, and enhance the guiding role of the plans, in accordance with the Renewable Energy Law and the National Energy Administration's "14th Five-Year Plan for Energy Planning," the following notice is hereby issued regarding matters related to the preparation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development:

I. Give high priority to the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development

The 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development is an important component of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Energy Development and a crucial measure to implement the new energy security strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation." It serves as a working guide for the high-quality development of the renewable energy industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and is of great significance for clarifying renewable energy development goals, optimizing the renewable energy industry layout, and achieving high-quality development of renewable energy.
All regions and relevant departments should attach great importance to the formulation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development, closely focus on the new energy security strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation", scientifically propose renewable energy development goals, clarify the main tasks, major projects, innovative methods and safeguard measures for renewable energy development, and promote the continuous reduction of renewable energy costs, expansion of scale, optimization of layout, and improvement of quality and efficiency, so as to achieve high proportion and high-quality development, and lay a solid foundation for promoting renewable energy to become the main source of incremental energy consumption during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and achieving the strategic goal of 20% non-fossil energy consumption by 2030.

II. Conscientiously implement the key tasks of planning.

(I) Emphasizing a market-oriented, low-cost strategy for prioritizing the development of renewable energy. The 14th Five-Year Plan period is a crucial window of opportunity for promoting energy transformation and green development, and also a critical period for achieving full grid parity for onshore wind and solar power without subsidies. We must fully leverage the cost competitiveness of renewable energy, adhere to a market-oriented approach, and prioritize the development and utilization of renewable energy. The national renewable energy development plan should coordinate the overall layout and optimized utilization of renewable energy development. All regions should prioritize the development and utilization of local renewable energy as the primary principle of their energy planning and development. Regions with large energy consumption markets and limited local renewable energy resource development space should actively accept renewable energy imported from outside the region.
(II) Systematically assess the development conditions of various renewable energy resources. A comprehensive review of the relationship between the development layout of renewable energy sources such as hydropower (including pumped storage, the same below), wind power, solar energy, biomass energy, and geothermal energy in the region and the national land space planning is conducted. A systematic analysis of land constraints affecting renewable energy development and construction, including those related to ecology, environmental protection, forestry, grassland, culture and tourism, and military considerations, is performed, and potential development spaces for various renewable energy sources are proposed. In conjunction with the technological advancements of various renewable energy sources, an in-depth assessment of the development potential and distribution of various renewable energy sources in the region is conducted. Simultaneously, considering the implementation of my country's energy revolution strategy and the continued large-scale development of renewable energy in the future, coordination with national land space planning is ensured, reserving development space for the medium- and long-term strategic development of renewable energy.
(III) Scientifically Demonstrate the Development Goals of Various Renewable Energy Sources during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the implementation progress of the 13th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy, summarizing its effectiveness and challenges. Based on the national target for the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption by 2025, carefully analyze the development conditions and characteristics of various renewable energy resources in the region. Taking into account factors such as technological progress, economic viability, grid absorption and transmission, innovative development, and system optimization, comprehensively study and propose the overall goals for renewable energy development in the region during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, as well as development goals for various renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind power, solar energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy. Regions receiving renewable energy should also study and propose targets for receiving renewable energy from external sources during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. On this basis, clarify the proportion of renewable energy electricity and non-hydro renewable energy electricity in the total electricity consumption of the region, as well as the proportion of renewable energy consumption in primary energy consumption, and establish a corresponding indicator system, incorporating it into the region's 14th Five-Year Plan for energy.
(IV) Carefully study the main tasks and major project layout for renewable energy development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Prioritize the development of local decentralized and distributed renewable energy resources, vigorously promote the direct and local utilization of distributed renewable electricity, heat, and gas at the user side, and combine new technologies such as energy storage and hydrogen energy to increase the proportion of renewable energy in regional energy supply. On the premise of ensuring seamless connection between transmission and reception ends and implementing the consumption market, promote the construction of renewable energy bases in the western and northern regions and expand the scope of renewable energy resource allocation by improving the transmission capacity of existing channels and building new external transmission channels. Attach great importance to non-electrical utilization of renewable energy such as heating, promote non-electrical utilization methods such as biomass, geothermal energy, and solar energy according to local conditions, significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy in clean heating in the northern region, and promote the non-electrical utilization of renewable energy to play a greater role in my country's energy transition. In conjunction with the national energy and power system reform, improve the policy mechanism and market environment for renewable energy development, innovate renewable energy development methods, and promote new models and new forms of integrated development of renewable energy with related technologies and industries. On this basis, scientifically propose the main tasks and major project layout for renewable energy development in the region during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
(V) Coordinate the local consumption and inter-provincial transmission of renewable energy. Implementing a robust consumption market is a crucial prerequisite for renewable energy development planning. Enhancing local renewable energy consumption capacity and expanding the scale of inter-provincial renewable energy resource allocation are key measures to promote renewable energy development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. On the power supply side, research measures such as hydropower expansion and upgrading, construction of pumped storage and other energy storage facilities, and flexibility upgrades for thermal power plants will be studied to improve system peak-shaving capacity. On the grid side, research will be conducted to improve the main grid structure within provinces and regions, enhance inter-regional grid transmission capacity, optimize dispatching and operation mechanisms, and provide a resource optimization platform for the mutual allocation of renewable and fossil fuels. On the user side, in conjunction with new electricity consumption areas (electric vehicles, electric heating, etc.), electricity demand-side response, and integrated energy services, new energy consumption models and new business forms will be explored to fully leverage demand-side flexibility and investigate the potential for renewable energy consumption.
(VI) Accelerate the construction of renewable energy technology, equipment, and industrial systems. Focusing on renewable energy technology innovation, industrial development, and supporting service systems, research measures to further improve the renewable energy industrial system. Conduct in-depth research on the development trends of various renewable energy technologies during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and the medium- and long-term periods, as well as the trends of related technology integration and industrial integration. With technological progress as the core, strive to enhance the manufacturing capabilities of renewable energy equipment, focus on breaking through a number of key "bottleneck" technologies, research and establish a multi-level renewable energy technology innovation model jointly composed of institutions, enterprises, and universities, and cultivate a renewable energy industrial system with independent intellectual property rights.
(VII) Research and propose long-term mechanisms and policy measures to support the development of renewable energy. Research and improve the policy coordination mechanism, strengthen the coordination between renewable energy and policies related to land, environmental protection, and forestry, and establish a unified planning system integrating multiple plans. Research and improve the target assessment mechanism, implement the responsibility entities and assessment mechanism for renewable energy targets, and establish a dynamic evaluation and implementation supervision mechanism for medium- and long-term renewable energy development targets. Research and improve the market promotion mechanism, give full play to the decisive role of the market mechanism in resource allocation, and establish a renewable energy market system that is diversified, fair, open, and competitive. Research and improve the high-quality development evaluation system, establish a dynamic evaluation mechanism covering planning implementation, quality supervision, and credit management, and promote the healthy development of the renewable energy industry.

III. Work Organization

(I) Improving the working mechanism. The National Energy Administration has entrusted the China Hydropower Engineering Consulting Group to lead the preparation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development. The State Grid Corporation of China, China Southern Power Grid Company Limited, the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Environmental Engineering Assessment Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Wind and Solar Energy Resources Center of the China Meteorological Administration, the National Geothermal Energy Center, the China Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute, and relevant industry associations and development enterprises should cooperate in this work. The energy authorities of each province (autonomous region, municipality) should establish corresponding working bodies to organize relevant departments and enterprises in their respective regions to participate in the planning process.
(II) Ensure Planning Coordination. In accordance with the unified deployment of planning work, efforts should be made to ensure the coordination between renewable energy planning and comprehensive energy planning, energy planning in various sub-sectors, provincial renewable energy planning and national renewable energy planning, and renewable energy planning and related plans such as environmental protection and transportation, to ensure the scientific nature and operability of the plans. Technical units such as the China Hydropower Engineering Consulting Group should promptly communicate, coordinate, and provide technical services during the preparation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development in each province (autonomous region, municipality), assisting in ensuring the coordination between national and local plans.
(III) Broadly solicit opinions. During the planning process, it is essential to strengthen investigation and research and conduct scientific demonstration of the planning scheme. Opinions and suggestions from all parties should be widely solicited through thematic discussions, seminars, expert demonstrations, and public consultations to ensure that the planning research and demonstration are sufficient.

IV. Schedule

(I) National Renewable Energy Planning

The first draft of the planning research report was completed before early April 2020.
By the end of June 2020, preliminary alignment between national and local plans will be completed, taking into account the research findings of renewable energy planning in various provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). Preliminary alignment between renewable energy planning and related energy plans will also be completed, taking into account the progress of national comprehensive energy planning and sectoral energy planning. An intermediate draft of the planning research report will be completed, and opinions from relevant parties will be solicited and incorporated through seminars and other means, with continuous refinement and improvement.
By the end of September 2020, we will continue to ensure the alignment of the national renewable energy plan with local plans and relevant national special plans. We will complete the "Research Report on the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development," which will be reviewed and approved by experts organized by relevant departments of our bureau, and formally submitted to our bureau after further improvements.
By the end of November 2020, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development (Draft for Comments)" will be completed and formally solicited from relevant parties.
By the end of March 2021, the National 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development (Draft for Review) will be finalized and submitted or issued after undergoing legality review and other procedures.

(II) Provincial-level renewable energy planning

Before mid-April 2020, energy authorities in all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) should, based on existing planning research, organize and carry out research on the "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development in their respective regions, and propose preliminary ideas for the development of renewable energy during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. These ideas should mainly include the development foundation, overall approach, planning objectives, main tasks, major projects, safeguard measures, as well as suggestions on major projects, engineering demonstrations, and innovative mechanisms that they hope to include in the national renewable energy plan. The preliminary ideas for the development of renewable energy in their respective regions during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period should be submitted to our bureau by April 20.
By the end of May 2020, energy authorities in all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) should complete the initial draft of their respective renewable energy plans in accordance with the planning requirements and submit them to our bureau by the end of May.
Before the end of November 2020, cooperate with our bureau to complete the work of connecting with the provincial renewable energy plan.
Before the end of December 2020, the energy authorities of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall, in accordance with the overall requirements of the national "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development, the renewable energy development and utilization targets of each province (autonomous region and municipality), and the consistency with other planning contents, revise and improve their respective "14th Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development, and submit the final draft to our bureau.
All regions and relevant units are requested to expedite the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development as required. The National Energy Administration will convene meetings as needed to coordinate and advance the planning process.

General Office of the National Energy Administration

April 9, 2020