Expert Workshop "Flexibilising Coal-Fired Power Plants"

Panel discussion at the expert workshop “Flexibilizing Coal-Fired Power Plants”
Panel discussion at the expert workshop “Flexibilizing Coal-Fired Power Plants”

In the past decade, China has made significant strides to fundamentally reshape its energy system and committed itself to reduce the carbon and energy intensity of its economy by promoting energy conservation and efficiency as well as the development of renewable energies. China aims to increase the share of non-fossil energies in primary energy consumption from currently 13.6% to 15% by 2020 and to 20% by 2030. Meanwhile, the share of coal in primary energy consumption is set to decline from 64% in 2015 to 58% by 2020. The increase of generation from variable renewable energy sources is causing the demand for flexibility in China’s power system to rise – on the demand as well as the supply side. The flexible operation of coal-fired power plants is one important measure to provide the flexibility needed in order to facilitate the integration of variable renewable energy in China. The workshop “Technical Solutions for the Flexibilisation of Coal-fired Power Plants: Experiences from Germany” specifically addressed this challenge. It provided a unique platform for German and Chinese experts to explore practical solutions, exchange best practices and discuss state-of-the art technology for the flexibilisation of coal-fired power plants. It allowed participants to better understand the solutions that have proven effective in Germany as well as the technical and operational needs of China’s power plant fleet.

The workshop was organized jointly between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Chinese Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute (EPPEI) and was held within the framework of the Sino-German Energy Partnership under the auspices of the National Energy Administration (NEA) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) of Germany. It aims to support NEA’s efforts to promote the flexibilisation of China’s coal-fired power plant fleet as stated in the recent 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and evident in the recent establishment of the national demonstration program. At the same time, the workshop is contributing to the international “Advanced Power Plant Flexibility Campaign” as announced at CEM8, spearheaded by Denmark, China and Germany and implemented by the International Energy Agency (IEA).