Renewable energy program exceeding growth and innovation expectations

The second phase of the China Renewable Energy Scale-up Program, scheduled to run from 2014 to 2021, is of great importance to supporting policymaking, innovation and industrial layout optimization.

The program, jointly developed by the National Energy Administration, the World Bank and the Global Environment Fund, was set to support the 13th Five-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (2016-20) in China and promote the large-scale sustainable development of renewable energy by reducing costs and improving efficiency.

The project received a total of $27.28 million from the GEF to support 145 activities in five categories over the last seven years, which are renewable energy policy research, grid integration, technological research, pilot demonstration and capacity building.

Supporting policymaking

Over the last seven years, the project supported institutions such as the Energy Research Institute of National Development and Reform Commission, China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, and China Electric Power Planning &Engineering Institute to carry out a number of research programs.

It has played an irreplaceable role in setting the 13th Five-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan, the 14th Renewable Energy Development Plan (2021-25) and the national 2035 and 2050 mid- and long-term renewable energy development plans.

It also contributed to the establishment of the renewable energy power quota mechanism, the renewable energy power quota system implementation rules and supporting mechanisms, power subsidy and pricing mechanisms and the renewable energy policy framework system in the post-subsidy period.

Optimizing industrial design

China has taken measures to optimize the renewable energy industry's industrial layout. The CRESP Phase II supported the study of optimizing the layout of large-scale onshore wind power bases. It also supported research on the cooperation mechanism of the Hami energy base as well as research on the coordinated development planning of the new energy and power grid in Northwest China.

The research results on optimizing a wind power base have been applied in the subsequent construction of wind power bases in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Qinghai province. The analysis methodology for research of the coordinated planning of the new energy and power grid in Northwest China is also promoted within the State Grid system.

Promoting innovation

The CRESP Phase II project supported the basic research on the development of offshore wind power. The development of five national standards for offshore wind turbines is a key result achieved by the project. The standard "Rotor Blades for Wind Turbines" sponsored by CRESP is the first independently developed and published international standard by China's wind power industry. The CRESP Phase II also supported activities such as development of the guidelines for offshore wind power transmission planning, planning and design of direct-current-grid connection of offshore wind power, optimal design of wind farm foundations and testing of offshore wind turbines. The policies together provided strong support for the development of China's offshore wind power.

The project supported the establishment of a national public database for monitoring photovoltaic power generation and the development of an intelligent monitoring and analysis system for photovoltaic power stations. This has increased the power generation efficiency of the pilot photovoltaic power stations by 7 percent. As part of the project, a group of world-class technical experts were invited to provide systematic training courses on the design of solar power generation projects for institutions such as EPPEI.

According to industrial experts, the CRESP Phase II made significant contributions to environmental protection in the country. It provides an additional 1,024 gigawatt-hours of wind power per year in China, which helps reduce coal consumption by 3 million metric tons per year. Over the past seven years, the cost difference between coal power and wind power in China has been reduced to 1.1 cents per kilowatt-hour. The cost difference between coal power and photovoltaic power was lowered to 4.3 cents per kWh.

"The CRESP is a flagship project of the World Bank in China. One of the major goals for the World Bank, GEF and the Chinese government to form such a strategic partnership is to promote the sustainable development of renewable energy and contribute to industrial innovation," said Wang Xiaodong, a senior energy specialist at the World Bank. "China's efforts in lowering the cost of renewable energy and the country's strong position in global manufacturing maintained the prices of renewable energy around the world at a low level. In general, every project has far exceeded our expectations."