China Southern Power Grid promotes renewable energy

An aerial photo of the Wudongde hydropower station on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in Southwest China. [Photo/Xinhua]

State-owned China Southern Power Grid has been stepping up efforts to promote new energy development in an effort to continuously increase renewable energy penetration in the country.

The company saw power generated by clean energy－including hydro, wind and solar－reach 151.19 billion kilowatt-hours during the first half, with the hydropower utilization ratio reaching 99.8 percent and the overall renewable energy utilization ratio reaching 99.87 percent, it said.

That saved approximately 10.5 million metric tons of standard coal consumption and reduced emissions including 27.6 million tons of carbon dioxide and 210,000 tons of sulfur dioxide.

The company said it will further absorb more wind and solar power during the second half.

Covering Guangdong, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hainan, the company's grid network absorbs various traditional and renewable energy resources including hydropower, coal, wind, nuclear, oil and gas.

The company's total installed capacity exceeded 320 million kW by the end of 2019. Besides thermal power, which reached 140 million kW and accounted for about 44 percent of total power generation, power generated by hydropower reached 110 million kW, accounting for 34.4 percent of total power generation.

Nuclear power stood at 19.61 million kW and wind power at 20.35 million kW, accounting for 6.1 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Wei Hanyang, a power market analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said there is no pressure for hydropower to seek grid-parity, and it will continue to be competitive in the power system.

Wei said the company successfully turned recent floods into high output for hydropower, and avoided energy waste in most of its areas of coverage, which can also help alleviate air pollution issues in coastal provinces.

The first-ever hydropower delivery to Hainan by the company, across a strait, also marks a historic watershed because the island was previously isolated from the main grid, he added.

Writing by Zheng Xin (China Daily); editing by Wang Jingzhong