[International Energy Network Live Report] On the morning of December 10, 2024, a side event titled “Planning and Ecological Design of Solar PV Power Stations in Desert Areas” took place at the China Pavilion of the COP16 in Riyadh. The side event was hosted by the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development of the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, and co-hosted by the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, China National Sand Control and Desert Industry Society, Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Tsinghua University, Ningxia Longyuan New Energy Co., Ltd.
Mr. Jiang Hao, chief technical expert of Director of International Marketing Department of China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, delivered a keynote speech on “Energy Transition in China and China-Arab Renewable Energy Cooperation”. Jiang Hao analyzed the current status of China’s renewable energy development, and detailed the background, the key tasks and outlook for China-Arab renewable energy cooperation.
Jiang Hao, Chief Technical Expert, Director of International Marketing Department, China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute
Breaking through 1.5 billion kilowatts, China’s installed capacity has achieved a new leap
Jiang Hao introduced the current status of China’s renewable energy development from the following four aspects.
The first is the new leap in installed capacity. In the past decade, China’s renewable energy installed capacity has grown rapidly, and the scale of wind power and photovoltaic power has increased 10 times. The total installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaic power generation has ranked first in the world for 19, 14, and 9 consecutive years, respectively. According to statistics, in 2023, China’s renewable energy installed capacity will exceed 1.5 billion kilowatts, accounting for about 40% of the world’s total renewable energy installed capacity.
The second is that the level of consumption and utilization has achieved new results. Jiang Hao said that in recent years, with the rapid increase in power generation, the utilization rate of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in my country has remained above 95%. In 2023, the national renewable energy power generation will be nearly 3 trillion kilowatt-hours, exceeding the total power generation of the 27 EU countries. Renewable energy electricity accounts for 32% of the total electricity consumption in the society, and the “green” content of energy supply and consumption continues to increase.
The third is that technological innovation drives the continuous decline in costs. Jiang Hao said that in terms of development and utilization costs, the average cost of centralized photovoltaic power generation is about 3,900 yuan/kW, which is only about 20% of that in 2010; the onshore centralized wind power project is about 4,500 yuan/kW.
The fourth is that the advantages of the entire industrial chain are obvious. Jiang Hao said that in the hydropower industry, China has a complete hydropower survey and design, construction and equipment manufacturing industry chain system; in the photovoltaic industry, the photovoltaic industry chain has a good cost performance, providing high-quality and low-cost products and solutions to support and promote global energy transformation; in wind power, 6 wind turbine manufacturers are ranked high, supporting the development of global wind power.
Support China’s participation in more than 5GW renewable energy projects in Arab countries
It is understood that in 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and proposed to build a “1+2+3” China-Arab cooperation pattern, that is, energy cooperation as the main axis, infrastructure construction, trade and investment facilitation as the two wings, and nuclear energy, aerospace satellites, and new energy as the three high-tech fields as new breakthroughs. Since then, China-Arab energy cooperation has been deepening, and remarkable results have been achieved in policy exchanges, capacity building, and project cooperation.
In addition, in 2022, President Xi Jinping proposed the “Eight Joint Actions” for China-Arab practical cooperation in the new era at the first China-Arab States Summit in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. It was proposed that China is willing to build a China-Arab Clean Energy Cooperation Center with the Arab side, support Chinese energy companies and financial institutions to participate in renewable energy projects with a total installed capacity of more than 5 million kilowatts in the Arab side, carry out energy technology research and development cooperation with the Arab side, strengthen energy policy coordination, and promote the establishment of a fair, just, balanced and inclusive global energy governance system.
Jiang Hao said that accelerating the promotion of renewable energy cooperation between China and Arab countries is a major measure to promote the energy revolution and build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system. It is an inevitable choice to ensure the energy security of both sides, an objective requirement for achieving sustainable development, and a leading force in building a community with a shared future for mankind and fulfilling the commitment to make independent contributions to address climate change.
In the next step, China and Arab countries will focus on bilateral energy cooperation such as the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the China-Arab Energy Cooperation Conference, and China-Arab (Algeria).
Prospects for China-Arab Renewable Energy Cooperation
At the end of his speech, Jiang Hao gave a detailed introduction to the prospects for China-Arab renewable energy cooperation.
Jiang Hao said that in terms of cooperation positioning, he hopes to strengthen communication and exchanges through policy dialogue, technical exchanges, and capacity building, deepen pragmatic cooperation through demonstration projects and joint research and development, build a technical research and development and demonstration base for my country in the international clean energy market, promote the integration of local and international clean energy markets, and enhance the level of opening up and international competitiveness. Build consensus on cooperation and help China and Arab countries achieve energy transformation and high-quality development.
In terms of cooperation action planning, first, strengthen cooperation and mutual trust between Chinese and Arab companies, give full play to China’s manufacturing capacity and industrial chain advantages, and strengthen pragmatic cooperation with the Arab League in cutting-edge technologies and emerging industries. Second, establish the concept of large-scale development and enhance the overall capabilities of China and Arab countries in the field of renewable energy. Give full play to resource advantages, adopt a large-base development model, and promote the clustered development of renewable energy. Create a demonstration point for global renewable energy cooperation, promote regional energy transformation, and provide an important demonstration for global green energy development. Third, actively explore new models of renewable energy cooperation, give full play to the advantages of organizations such as the International Renewable Energy Agency, share technical experience and conduct joint research and development through large-scale international exchange activities, strengthen cooperation in the fields of wind energy, solar energy, energy storage and hydrogen energy, and promote China-Arab energy transformation and sustainable development.
