The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party has laid out plans for the development and construction of a new energy system. The Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report further clarified key tasks for 2025. In implementation of the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the National Energy Work Conference has systematically outlined the key energy tasks for 2025 across 10 areas, including rigorously implementing the new energy security strategy at a high standard, deepening energy reform and strengthening the rule of law, and coordinating the formulation and implementation of energy plans. These measures provide clear directions and pathways for ensuring a solid start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period and accelerating the development and construction of a new energy system.

In recent years, the Planning and Development Division of the National Energy Administration (hereinafter referred to as the “Planning and Development Division”), together with relevant parties, has steadily promoted the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for energy development. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties, China’s construction of a new energy system has been accelerated, and its development foundation has continued to be strengthened, notably in three key areas.

First, the capacity to ensure energy supply has been further enhanced. We have strengthened the foundation of domestic energy production: crude oil output has risen for six consecutive years, and natural gas production has increased by more than 10 billion cubic meters for eight consecutive years. Our energy self-sufficiency rate has remained above 80%, effectively ensuring overall balance between energy supply and demand and maintaining generally stable energy prices. We have made full use of both domestic and international markets and resources, successfully hosting the Third Belt and Road Energy Ministers’ Meeting, thereby further enhancing our capacity to ensure energy security under open conditions.

Second, new progress has been made in the green and low-carbon energy transition. Implement nine initiatives to build a new-type power system. Renewable energy capacity has surpassed coal-fired power capacity, accounting for 56.4% of total installed power generation capacity. Wind and solar power capacities have been achieved more than six years ahead of schedule, fulfilling China’s commitment made at the Climate Ambition Summit. The combined operational and under-construction nuclear power capacity has exceeded 110 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world. In the first four years of the 14th Five-Year Plan, nearly 40% of the increase in energy consumption was supplied by non-fossil energy sources. The levels of clean, low-carbon, efficient, and intelligent energy consumption continue to rise. New energy vehicles and virtual power plants are accelerating their development. The cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage systems has exceeded 73 million kilowatts, and the number of charging infrastructure units has now reached over 13 million.

Third, new breakthroughs have been achieved in the innovative development of energy reform. The development of new-quality productive forces is accelerating. We have launched and are implementing major national science and technology projects in smart grids, coal, and oil & gas resources. The first 26-megawatt offshore wind turbine unit and the first 300-megawatt Class F heavy-duty gas turbine unit have successfully rolled off the production line. The energy governance system has become more robust, with the Energy Law officially promulgated and put into effect. Significant breakthroughs have been made in the construction of regional electricity markets and spot markets; for the first time, the nation’s annual volume of market-based electricity transactions exceeded the 6 trillion kilowatt-hour mark. Price policies such as capacity pricing for coal-fired power have been implemented, and the issuance of green certificates has essentially achieved full coverage.

The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a pivotal phase—building on past achievements and paving the way for the future—that marks the fundamental realization of socialist modernization. It is also a critical period for comprehensively advancing the construction of a new energy system and contributing to the timely achievement of the carbon peak target. The internal and external environment facing energy development is undergoing profound and complex changes.

From an external perspective, the world is undergoing a major transformation unseen in a century, one that is accelerating and deepening across all dimensions. On the one hand, the international situation is marked by intertwined turmoil and complexity, profoundly impacting the global energy supply-and-demand landscape. As a result, China’s energy security assurance has entered a period characterized by both strategic opportunities and mounting risks and challenges, with an increasing number of uncertain and unpredictable factors. At the same time, energy and climate issues are closely intertwined, presenting China with new challenges as it becomes deeply involved in the transformation of the global energy governance system. On the other hand, a new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding in depth, making the green and low-carbon transition of energy an inevitable trend. Competition in new technologies and emerging fields is intensifying, and the innovative integration of advanced information technology with the energy industry is reshaping the way energy develops.

From an internal perspective, the development of a new energy system and a new power system calls for systemic transformation and reshaping of the energy system. The balance between energy supply and demand, as well as the development model, are undergoing profound changes. First, energy consumption is exhibiting new trends and characteristics. While traditional industries continue to maintain substantial energy consumption levels, emerging industries are experiencing rapid growth in energy use, driving rigid growth in overall energy consumption and causing the elasticity coefficient of electricity demand to fluctuate upward. Frequent extreme weather events have led to a sustained increase in the share of energy used for people’s livelihoods, widening the gap between peak and off-peak electricity loads and making short-term, high-peak load patterns even more pronounced. Moreover, it remains challenging to promote clean energy substitution in traditional sectors. Second, energy supply and system operations face new challenges. Constraints on land, sea use, and ecological protection for energy bases and transmission channels are tightening, posing difficulties for the long-term sustainability of large-scale renewable energy transmission, increasing the difficulty of enhancing the power system’s regulation capabilities, and highlighting the urgent need to break through existing policies that limit local utilization. As the power system increasingly features a high proportion of renewable energy and power electronics, pressures on safe and stable operation continue to mount. Third, reform and innovation urgently require new breakthroughs. Technological innovations—led by renewable energy—are rapidly iterating and strongly driving upgrades in the energy industry; however, certain technological breakthroughs still face bottlenecks in commercial application.

Meanwhile, as the market-oriented reform of the energy sector continues to deepen, the roles of conventional and new energy sources are undergoing a transformation. This transition is putting upward pressure on system costs, making it urgently necessary to establish and improve policy mechanisms that can adapt to the development of new models and business forms and promote green energy consumption.

In accordance with relevant work arrangements, the Department of Development Planning is collaborating with relevant parties to carry out research and preparation for the “15th Five-Year” energy plan. In implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, the “15th Five-Year” energy development will closely focus on two major tasks—energy security and low-carbon transition—and steadily advance the construction of a new energy system.

Adhere to the principle of “a nationwide coordinated approach” and comprehensively optimize the spatial layout of energy development. Deeply plan regional energy development, optimize the diversified energy mix, and promote more coordinated and efficient local energy self-balancing and inter-provincial energy allocation. Further refine the direction and scale of energy transmission, and improve energy infrastructure such as power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and coal transportation channels. At the same time, strengthen coordination between energy production layouts and energy-consuming industries, promote “power from the west for use in the west,” and guide high-energy-consuming industries and flexible load-adjusting sectors to gradually relocate to regions rich in renewable energy resources. Promote integrated energy development between urban and rural areas, and accelerate the pilot construction of the rural energy revolution.

Adhere to a systematic approach and promote the coordinated transformation of energy production and consumption. On the supply side, we should steadily advance the construction of hydropower and nuclear power projects, adhering to a balanced approach that integrates centralized and distributed systems, as well as onshore and offshore developments. We must intensify efforts to develop new energy sources and foster synergy among policies related to land and sea use, environmental protection, and fiscal and tax incentives. We should accelerate the establishment of a new-type power system, comprehensively enhancing the flexibility and regulation capabilities across all links—generation, grid, and load—and step up the construction and upgrading of distribution networks. Moreover, we should build intelligent dispatching systems and improve the capacity to accommodate new energy sources. On the consumption side, we need to promote the clean and efficient use of fossil fuels, actively expand the diversified application scenarios for new energy sources, and vigorously implement renewable energy substitution initiatives in key sectors such as industry, transportation, buildings, and data centers, thereby facilitating local consumption of new energy.

Adhere to bottom-line thinking and build a new pattern of energy security characterized by strong resilience. Strengthen the foundation of domestic production and supply, maintain a reasonable scale of coal production capacity, promote stable annual crude oil output at around 200 million tons, sustain the trend of increasing reserves and production of natural gas, and rationally plan and build supporting and regulating power sources. Establish and improve an efficient and coordinated energy reserve system, and scientifically and reasonably determine the types, scale, and methods of energy reserves. At the same time, enhance the management and control of major risks to energy security, and accelerate the establishment and improvement of an energy forecasting and early-warning system. Deepen international energy cooperation and strengthen energy security under open conditions.

Uphold innovation-driven development and vigorously promote the growth of new energy productivity. Improve the innovation system for energy technology, address major needs in building a new-type energy system, strengthen the development of national strategic scientific and technological forces in the energy sector, enhance the role of enterprises as the main innovators, and systematically plan innovative development paths for traditional energy industries, emerging industries, and industries of the future. Strengthen innovation in key energy technologies and equipment, accelerate the creation of new driving forces for the development of the energy industrial chain, consolidate and expand the advantages of the wind and photovoltaic industries, intensify technological innovation and industrial development in areas such as new energy storage and new fuels, guide industries to compete vigorously and strive for excellence, and open up new growth tracks for industrial development.

Uphold reform-driven development and improve the long-term mechanism for energy development. Improve the legal and regulatory framework based on the Energy Law, and promote the revision and enactment of laws such as the Electricity Law, the Coal Law, and the Renewable Energy Law. Accelerate the development of the energy market, establish a sound, multi-level, nationwide unified electricity market system, and foster the growth of the green certificate market. Focus on achieving breakthroughs in encouraging broad participation of new types of market players and expanding consumption of green energy. Advance the market-oriented reform of energy prices, and build a pricing mechanism that reflects the diverse values of electricity commodities, using market price signals to guide the rational and optimized allocation of resources.