『Abstract
We examine the challenges to China's transition to a low carbon
electricity system, in which renewable energy would play a significant
role. China's electricity system currently lacks the flexibility
in planning, operations, and pricing to respond to conflicting
pressures from demand growth, rising costs, and environmental
mandates in a way that simultaneously maintains reliability, decarbonizes
the system, and keeps prices within acceptable bounds. Greater
flexibility crucially requires the ability to more systematically
and transparently manage and allocate costs. This will require
re-orientating sector institutions still rooted in central planning,
and strengthening independent regulation. Some of the necessary
changes require fundamental political and legal reforms beyond
the scope of energy policy. However, the system's flexibility
can still be increased through the development of traditional
planning and regulatory tools and approaches, such as an avoided
cost basis for energy efficiency investments, more integrated
planning to improve the coordination of generation, transmission,
and demand-side investments, and a transparent ratemaking process.
The judicious application of OECD electricity sector experience
and skills can support these developments.
Keywords: China; Low carbon electricity; Renewable energy』
1. Introduction
2. An overview of China's current electricity system
2.1. Demand
2.2. Generation
2.3. Operations
2.4. Pricing
2.5. Renewables integration in the current power system
3. Drivers of change in the Chinese power system
3.1. Demand growth and structural change
3.2. Growing environmental awareness and environmental policy
3.3. Rising costs
3.4. Energy efficiency as a strategy for managing growth, peak,
and rising costs
4. Developing institutions to address new challenges
4.1. Institutional change in China's electricity sector
4.2. Obstacles and pathways to institutional change
5. Toward a low carbon electricity system in China
References