Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 43 2021

AsiaElec FOSSIL FUELS AsiaElec

China looks to cut fossil fuel

output by 2060

GLOBAL AUTHORITIES in China have outlined an offi- The former deputy director of China’s Pol-
cial government target of reducing the overall icy & Law Department in the National Energy
fossil fuel usage across the country to below 20% Administration (NEA), Mr. Ding Zhimin, said
by 2060. this summer that coal will eventually be replaced
Currently the world’s leading fossil fuel pol- by renewables.
luter, China’s President Xi Jinping had earlier Figures provided by Mr. Ding were in the
himself pledged that total emissions would peak region of 85% of China’s energy mix eventually
by 2030, and that the following three decades coming from renewable sources by 2060, a huge
would see the nation achieve eventual carbon increase on a forecast of 15% just a year ago.
neutrality. En route to this goal, China’s current national
Speculation is rife in East Asian energy cir- plan is also aiming to achieve 1,200 GW of
cles as to just how Beijing aims to achieve this installed wind and solar by 2030, a figure similar
goal with renewables projects across the country to the Xinhua announcement.
seemingly stagnated on the back of government Beijing has, however, released somewhat con-
limits on total power generation and regional tradictory claims on the goal of reducing coal use
governments opting to rely on readily available whilst at the same time pushing ahead with con-
coal-generated power. struction on so many coal-fired plants.
Announcing the plan to reduce fossil fuel It had initially been revealed that President
use – primarily coal – over the next forty years, Xi aimed to “strictly control” the increase in pro-
however, has met with some scepticism given an posed coal power plants, until sources revealed
ongoing nationwide push to open 43 new coal the true extent of ongoing construction projects,
power plants in the near future. prior to their later indicating that the total num-
The planned reduction also comes at a time ber would start to drop sometime after 2026.
when China is facing threats to its economic out- No indication was given on the dynamics
put on the back of increases in global coal prices behind this decrease, although it is anticipated to
and investigations into some of the nation’s tea- be a combination of the closure of ageing plants
pot refineries all adding pressure to a national coupled with replacing other facilities in areas
grid struggling to keep up with demand. of increased renewable energy output coming
Power outages have been become a frequent online, particularly in the more industrial south.
occurrence of late in some parts of the country. Nuclear power was not highlighted during
Furthermore, coal supplies are now believed the announcement, although there are around
to be running low across China just as the tem- 20 nuclear power plants (NPPs) reportedly
peratures are starting to drop with the approach under construction at present and up to 80 oth-
of winter. ers in various stages of planning.
The announcement by the government’s offi- Most are thought to be relatively small-
cial Xinhua News Agency earlier in the week scale and linked to a 2020 goal proposed by the
has subsequently caused both frustration and National People’s Congress in Beijing of adding
confusion, in particular concerning the govern- between six and eight NPPs a year to the national
ment’s supposed goal of increasing renewables grid; China is aiming for 200 GW of nuclear
use to 25% of total energy output by the end of capacity by the mid-2030s.™
the decade.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 27•October•2021