Distributed Energy Seizes a Prime Opportunity for Growth

This year's Government Work Report mentioned the promotion of distributed energy development and utilization for the first time. The inclusion of "distributed energy" signals that this field has become a new national focus.

At the local level, many provinces have also made distributed energy a priority in their annual plans. One southern province proposed building a modern energy system and rationally arranging projects for peak regulation, combined heat and power, and distributed gas power generation. Another province in the southwest emphasized the need to develop decentralized wind and distributed photovoltaic (PV) projects in rural areas.

In China, distributed renewable energy mainly includes distributed PV and decentralized wind power. Among these, distributed PV has entered a period of rapid growth and industrial expansion.

In 2021, the newly installed distributed PV capacity in China surpassed centralized PV for the first time, reaching 29.28 million kilowatts, accounting for about 55 percent of all new PV capacity. In 2022, distributed generation became the dominant mode of growth for both wind and solar. New distributed PV installations totaled 51.11 million kilowatts, more than 58 percent of all new solar capacity that year.

During this year's national policy meetings, officials from relevant energy departments noted that the key to fostering new productive forces in the energy sector lies in promoting the high-quality development of new and renewable energy. They emphasized that distributed renewable energy is one of the most important areas of focus.

Looking ahead, national energy regulators plan to launch pilot counties for rural energy reform. Programs such as the "Villages Wind Program" and the "Household Solar Program" will be implemented to support clean and low-carbon transitions in rural areas and to boost rural revitalization. At the same time, efforts will be made to build smart grids, strengthen the coordination of generation, grid, load, and storage, and improve intelligent control and local energy utilization.

As an important part of distributed energy, distributed PV in China mainly includes residential and commercial or industrial projects. In recent years, residential distributed PV has developed rapidly, achieving large-scale growth.

By the end of September 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of residential distributed PV in China exceeded 100 million kilowatts, reaching 105 million kilowatts. More than 5 million rural households have installed such systems, generating over 500 billion yuan in effective investment. From January to September 2023, residential distributed PV added 32.98 million kilowatts, accounting for nearly half of all new distributed PV capacity and more than one-fourth of total national PV additions.

According to industry estimates, rural areas in China have about 27.3 billion square meters of rooftop space suitable for PV installation, covering more than 80 million rooftops. The development potential is enormous.

To promote harmony between rural PV projects and the "Beautiful Countryside" initiative, experts from the renewable energy sector suggested encouraging the use of high-efficiency, reliable, and visually appealing PV modules with anti-dust features. They also proposed promoting key components such as inverters suited for rural distributed systems. In addition, they called for demonstration projects to advance rural PV construction and for the acceleration of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).

Accelerating the development of distributed energy will help optimize the energy structure, promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and support sustainable economic and social growth. It will also play a vital role in achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

With continued effort and cooperation across all sectors, distributed energy development and utilization are expected to achieve faster and stronger progress in the coming years.