Anhui Issues New Plan to Develop Renewable Sources of Energy

Anhui Energy Administration recently issued its 13th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Sources of Energy (2016-2020). By 2020, annual use of renewable energy in Anhui province (in eastern China) is to reach around 8 million tons of standard coal. In addition, renewable energy activities in the province as a whole are to generate 26 billion kWh/a by 2020, supporting over 11% of the nation’s consumption, according to the plan.
At present, renewable energy projects need the nation’s support (e.g. preferential policies, subsidies), to a great extent. With the government gradually lowering on-grid prices of renewable energy power, enterprises’ motivation to invest will diminish. To remedy this, industry players will need more technical progress and good competition mechanisms to bring generating costs down further.
The plan calls for establishing photovoltaic (PV) power stations, featuring a “PV +” model – i.e., station construction is to be integrated with agriculture, fisheries, etc. Further, rooftop PV power generation is also recommended, and this model implies fully utilizing roofs of industrial workshops and public buildings. Wind power is to be greatly developed, especially in intertidal zones, plains and low hills. Anhui’s installed capacity of PV power is to reach 8 million kW/a, while that of wind power is to be 2.6 million kW/a, both by 2020.
Exploration of geothermal energy is to be heated up. In places with abundant resources and high energy use in buildings, a shift in heating and cooling toward employing shallow geothermal energy is to be propelled, trying to cover 48 million square meters by 2020.
From 2016 to 2020, Anhui plans to invest around RMB100 billion in renewable energy projects, elevating non-fossil energy sources to 5.5% of its primary energy consumption by 2020. Renewable energy activities will boast a combined installed capacity of 17.6 million kW/a by 2020, supporting 23% of the province’s total.