ThePaper.cn:

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China's energy industry, and especially the new energy sector, has registered rapid growth. What are the plans for securing China's energy security? In addition, recent reports state that China plans to build over 200 pumped-storage hydroelectric projects in more than 200 cities and counties during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Could you explain the development plans for the nation's pumped-storage hydropower industry? Thank you.

Zhao Chenxin:

Thank you. I'll take these questions. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the NDRC has followed the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and earnestly implemented the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Focusing on safeguarding energy security, the NDRC has expedited its efforts to carry out the new strategy on energy security and strived to create a clean, low-carbon, safe and highly efficient energy system. As a result, our systems for energy production, supply, storage and marketing keep improving, which has offered robust and reliable energy guarantees for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

First, the energy production capacity has improved significantly. By phasing out outdated production capacity at an accelerated pace and developing quality production capacity, we have continuously optimized the structure and distribution of the coal production capacity. In 2021, the size of single wells of the average coal mine has increased by more than one time compared with 2012, and the output of large-scale coal mines with an annual yield of over 1.2 million metric tons accounts for more than 80% of the total. In terms of electricity, electricity production capacity has increased rapidly, especially wind power and photovoltaic power. By the end of 2021, China's total installed power generation capacity reached 2.38 billion kilowatts, double that of 2012, with an average annual growth rate of 8.4%. Specifically, the total installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power reached 635 million kilowatts, nearly 90 times that of 2012. In terms of petroleum and natural gas, by continuously boosting exploration efforts, China's output of crude oil in 2021 amounted to 199 million metric tons, and the annual output has remained at around the 200-million-threshold for a decade. China's output of natural gas reached 207.58 billion cubic meters, nearly 100 billion cubic meters more than that in 2012, nearly doubling in amount.

Second, the capability of guaranteeing energy supply has improved significantly. Coal transport capacity has seen great improvements. With railway lines such as the Haoji Railway and Watang-Rizhao Railway being completed and put into operation, China's cross-regional coal transport capacity, namely from north to south and from west to east, has been greatly enhanced. Power transmission from large-scale clean energy bases has been carried out in an orderly manner, and more channels are being built for cross-provincial and cross-regional power transmission. By the end of 2021, electricity transmission lines of 220 kilovolts and above in China totaled 843,000 kilometers, and the capacity of substation equipment reached 4.94 billion kilovolt-amperes, 1.7 times and 2.2 times that of 2012, respectively. The distribution of petroleum and natural gas pipelines has also continued improving, and the infrastructure network in this regard is taking shape. By the end of 2021, the length of China's petroleum and natural gas pipelines reached 180,000 kilometers, double that of 2012. All these figures are fairly convincing.

Third, the energy storage capacity has improved significantly. Coal storage facilities of enterprises keep improving, and coal-related emergency response capability is enhancing. The adjustment capacity of China's power sector has seen great improvements, and its peak-shaving ability is increasing steadily. Flexible manufacturing and renovation of coal-fired power plants have been rolled out in a comprehensive manner. Power storage technologies continue to be developed, and related industrial applications keep being upgraded. We are also continuously optimizing the reserve system for petroleum and natural gas, and have established a stable and highly efficient system in this regard.

Fourth, the energy market system keeps improving. We have built a unified domestic coal trading market and are continuously working to optimize it. We have also rolled out market-oriented reforms in the electric power sector and developed a market-oriented mechanism to coordinate the prices of electricity and fuel. Mr. Yang has already briefed you on the issues concerning prices earlier. In 2021, the amount of electricity traded in the domestic market reached 3.7 trillion kilowatt hours, accounting for 44.5% of total electricity consumption. This is a remarkable achievement. We have also ramped up regulation in the petroleum market and built a natural gas market system featuring orderly competition and efficient supply. Institutional reforms concerning petroleum and the natural gas sector have seen tangible progress.

In general, over the past decade China has quickened the step to establish and improve the systems for energy production, supply, storage, and marketing, and the country's capacity to provide a safe and stable supply of coal, electricity, oil, and gas has continued to increase, providing solid support for economic and social development.

In addition, I would like to give a brief response to the development of China's pumped storage hydropower industry you mentioned just now. With the increasing scale and proportion of renewable energy in China, it is more and more important to improve the peak-shaving ability of power systems through pumped storage hydropower plants. In recent years, the construction of pumped storage hydropower stations in China has been accelerating, the number of projects has increased significantly, and distribution areas have constantly expanded. China has successively built a number of world-leading pumped storage hydropower stations, which have played a very good and effective role in the field's development. By the end of 2021, the installed capacity of pumped storage hydropower stations nationwide had reached 36.39 million kilowatts, an increase of nearly 80% over 2012, with an average annual growth rate of 6.7%. In 2021, the nationwide pumped storage hydropower generation reached 39 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), an increase of more than three times that of 2012, with an average annual growth of 17.3%, which indicates that the operation efficiency of such plants is very good. Next, the NDRC will organize local governments and enterprises to further strengthen efforts to promote the development of pumped storage hydropower stations across the country, improve guaranteed energy supply capacities, boost the level of absorbing electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and accelerate the construction of a new power system.