On the date, the National Development and Reform Commission released the "Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Departments on Actively Promoting the Substitution of Renewable Energy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinion").

从《意见》中获悉，将协同推进工业用能绿色低碳转型。科学引导工业向可再生能源富集、资源环境可承载地区有序转移，强化钢铁、有色、石化化工、建材、纺织、造纸等行业与可再生能源耦合发展。**提高短流程炼钢占比，在冶金、铸造、建材、日用玻璃、有色、化工等重点行业推广电锅炉、电窑炉、电加热等技术。**Encourage the large-scale substitution of low-carbon hydrogen for high-carbon hydrogen in areas such as ammonia synthesis, methanol synthesis, petrochemicals, and steel, and explore the construction of integrated bases for wind, solar, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.

Actively promote pilot projects for the innovation of renewable energy substitution. Promote the application of low-carbon and zero-carbon production processes and industrial process reengineering technologies in the steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, and building materials sectors. Implement the promotion and application of hydrogen metallurgy and hydrogen-based chemical technologies.

The full text of the "Opinion" is as follows—

National Development and Reform Commission and other departments

Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Implementing Renewable Energy Alternative Actions

发改能源〔〕号

Development and Reform Commissions, Departments of Industry and Information Technology, Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Departments (Committees, Administrative Committees, Bureaus), Transportation Departments (Bureaus, Committees), Energy Bureaus, Data Management Departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as all dispatched agencies of the National Energy Administration:

In order to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party and the 2nd and 3rd Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, deepen the implementation of the Central Committee of the Party and the State Council's major decisions and plans on carbon peak and carbon neutrality, promote the construction of an economic system with green, low-carbon, and circular development, and drive the formation of green and low-carbon production and lifestyles, the following opinions are formulated to vigorously implement the action of renewable energy substitution.

I. General Requirements

大力实施可再生能源替代，Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and implementing the new strategy for energy security of "four revolutions and one cooperation," we adhere to comprehensive planning and safe substitution, correctly handling the relationship between the "break" and "establishment" of traditional energy and new energy, advancing the integration of power sources, grids, loads, and storage, and comprehensively enhancing the safe and reliable supply capacity of renewable energy; coordinating supply and demand, and replacing in an orderly manner, we coordinate the supply of renewable energy with the green energy consumption in key areas, accelerate the incremental substitution, steadily expand the stock substitution, and prudently promote the orderly substitution of renewable energy for traditional fossil energy; promoting synergy and integration, and diverse substitution, we advance the integrated substitution of renewable energy with industries, transportation, construction, and agriculture and rural areas, and economically and efficiently promote the diversified development and substitution of power generation, heating, gas production, and hydrogen production; leading with technology and innovating for substitution, we vigorously promote the pilot application of new technologies, innovate institutional mechanisms, and accelerate the cultivation of new scenarios, models, and forms of renewable energy substitution.“十四五”重点领域可再生能源替代取得积极进展，2025年全国可再生能源消费量达到11亿吨标煤以上。“十五五”各领域优先利用可再生能源的生产生活方式基本形成，2030年全国可再生能源消费量达到15亿吨标煤以上，有力支撑实现2030年碳达峰目标。

II. Strengthening Efforts to Enhance the Safe and Reliable Substitution Capability of Renewable Energy

(1) Enhance the supply capacity of renewable energy comprehensively. Accelerate the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic bases in desert, gobi, and desert areas, and promote the clustered development of offshore wind power. Scientifically and orderly advance the construction of large hydropower bases, and coordinate the integrated development of water, wind, and photovoltaic energy. Develop distributed renewable energy locally. Steadily develop biomass power generation and promote the scaled development of solar thermal power generation. Rapidly improve the capabilities of resource assessment, power prediction, and intelligent regulation for renewable energy. Promote the application of new technologies such as grid-forming renewable energy and long-term power prediction. Develop biogas, biodiesel, and bio-jet fuel as green fuels according to local conditions, and actively and orderly develop hydrogen production from renewable energy. Promote the rational and efficient use of geothermal energy resources and the scaled utilization of wave, tidal, and temperature difference energy. Facilitate the establishment of a heating system that integrates renewable energy with traditional energy, complementing each other and utilizing resources in a hierarchical and comprehensive manner.

(II) Accelerate the construction of supporting infrastructure for renewable energy. Promote the iterative advancement of advanced technologies such as flexible DC transmission and AC/DC hybrid distribution networks, and expedite the construction of digital and intelligent power grids. Strengthen the alignment of renewable energy and power development planning, and promote the coordinated development of the grid and energy sources. Enhance the quality and upgrade the main grid structure, strengthen the construction of cross-provincial and cross-regional transmission channels, optimize dispatching control, and prioritize the dispatching of renewable energy power. Continuously optimize the structure of the distribution grid, accelerate the integration and intelligent upgrade of the primary and secondary systems in the distribution grid, refine the distribution grid dispatching mechanism, enhance the flexibility and carrying capacity of the distribution grid, and support the rapid development of distributed renewable energy. Strengthen the construction and upgrade of infrastructure such as heating, gas pipelines, and hydrogen supply networks, enhance the interconnection of networks, and accommodate more non-electric renewable energy locally.

(III) Deeply tap the potential for demand-side resource regulation. Actively expand the scope of demand response entities and accelerate the construction of a demand response resource database. Encourage demand response entities with the capability to charge and discharge to participate in the electricity market. Support regions with the necessary conditions to guide electricity users to adjust their power consumption behavior through measures such as peak-time electricity pricing and widening the price limits in the spot market. Strengthen power demand-side management in key sectors such as industry, construction, and transportation, optimize processes and production flows, and participate in power system regulation through methods such as interruptible loads and controllable loads.

(IV) Enhance the regulation capacity of the power system through diversification. Strengthen the flexibility transformation of coal-fired units, promote the proactive participation of self-owned power plants in peak shaving, optimize the scheduling methods of coal-fired power, and reasonably determine the scheduling sequence and peak shaving depth. Research and advance the optimization and upgrading of large hydropower stations, and orderly construct pumped-storage power stations. Strengthen research and development of new energy storage technologies and their multi-scenario applications. Promote long-duration thermal storage power generation, thermoelectric coupling, and medium-to-high temperature thermal utilization in solar thermal applications. Encourage biomass power projects to provide auxiliary services such as peak shaving.

III. Accelerate the Promotion of Renewable Energy Substitution Applications in Key Areas

(V) Coordinated Promotion of Green and Low-Carbon Transformation in Industrial Energy Use. Scientifically guide the orderly transfer of industries to regions rich in renewable energy and with sustainable resource and environmental capacities, and strengthen the coupling development of industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, building materials, textiles, and paper with renewable energy. Increase the proportion of short-process steelmaking, and promote technologies such as electric boilers, electric kilns, and electric heating in key industries such as metallurgy, casting, building materials, daily glass, non-ferrous metals, and chemicals. Implement new energy source-grid-load-storage integration projects in industrial parks and around large manufacturers, promote the application of green microgrids in industry, direct supply of green electricity, and the replacement of coal-fired self-supplied power plants. Accelerate the promotion of renewable energy utilization for medium-low temperature heat in industries such as paper, dyeing, and food processing. Encourage the large-scale substitution of low-carbon hydrogen for high-carbon hydrogen in sectors such as ammonia synthesis, methanol synthesis, petrochemicals, and steel, and explore the construction of integrated bases for wind, solar, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol. Under the premise of ensuring residential winter heating, promote the shutdown and integration of coal-fired boilers within the heating range of combined heat and power units, and advance the technical transformation of biomass co-firing according to local conditions. Encourage the development of large-capacity coal-fired boilers with green ammonia combustion. Accelerate the integration of oil and gas exploration and development with renewable energy, and build low-carbon and zero-carbon oil and gas fields.

(VI) Accelerate the integration and interaction of transportation and renewable energy. Develop renewable energy transportation corridors. Encourage the construction of integrated multi-functional stations with photovoltaic, energy storage, charging, and discharging capabilities at highway rest areas, railway stations, bus terminals, airports, and ports where conditions permit. Rapidly develop electric passenger vehicles, steadily promote the electrification replacement of buses, and explore the application of new energy medium and heavy-duty trucks. Actively explore the development of electrified highways and increase the electrification transformation of railways. Promote the use of shore power by ships at ports and encourage the pilot application of green electric smart ships. Advance the application of sustainable aviation fuels and conduct pilot operations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Gradually promote the pilot application of green and clean liquid fuels for vehicles. Support regions with conditions to pilot the application of biodiesel, bio-jet fuel, biomethane, green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol in the maritime and aviation sectors.

(VII) Deepen the integration and application of renewable energy in buildings. Prioritize the utilization of renewable energy in urban planning, construction, renewal, and renovation. Promote the full implementation of green building standards for new urban construction, continuously increasing the requirements for the substitution of renewable energy for electricity, heat, and gas. Promote ultra-low energy consumption, near-zero energy consumption buildings, and the development of near-zero carbon buildings, while advancing the application of flexible electricity use technologies in buildings. Encourage the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of existing buildings and ensure that new factories and public buildings with the necessary conditions are equipped with photovoltaic systems. Promote the full electrification of new public buildings, and popularize electric heat pump water heaters, high-efficiency induction cookers, and other products to replace coal and gas. Advance the application of high-efficiency DC electrical appliances and equipment. Actively promote solar thermal applications in regions with abundant solar resources and buildings with stable hot water demand. Promote the application of geothermal energy, air source heat pumps, and centralized biomass energy for heating and cooling, with remote areas utilizing household biomass fuel stoves for heating based on local conditions.

(VIII) Fully support the clean and modern transformation of energy use in agriculture and rural areas. Actively develop decentralized wind power and distributed photovoltaic power generation in rural areas with the necessary conditions. Promote the collaborative treatment of agricultural and forestry waste, livestock and poultry manure, and other organic rural garbage, and rationally layout biomass power generation, centralized biomass clean heating, and biogas projects. Accelerate the transformation and upgrading of rural energy infrastructure, and explore the construction of micro-energy networks (microgrids). Promote the entry of biogas into pipelines in regions with conditions, advance centralized heating in towns and villages based on local conditions, prioritize the use of geothermal and solar energy for heating, and gradually reduce until banning the scattered burning of coal. Promote the transformation and upgrading of electrification in rural production and living, build rural energy stations, and enhance the public service capabilities of rural energy. Integrate the construction of rural energy facilities into the rural project inventory, and high-quality construction of pilot projects for the rural energy revolution, combined with the digital transformation of rural areas to improve the level of intelligent energy use in rural areas.

(IX) Coordinate the development and utilization of new infrastructure and renewable energy. Strengthen the construction of charging infrastructure, gas stations, and hydrogen refueling stations, and improve the urban and rural charging network system. Optimize the spatial layout of new infrastructure, promote the integrated development of base stations, data centers, supercomputing centers, and photovoltaics, heat pumps, and energy storage. Drive the deep integration of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and other technologies with renewable energy. Support the development of green electricity direct supply and integrated projects of source, grid, load, and storage for new infrastructure, and carry out green certificate and electricity trading, as well as the construction of "green power parks," to increase the proportion of new energy power consumption in strategic projects such as "East Data West Calculation." Support the construction of big data centers in regions with cold water resources within national hub nodes. Carry out green technology renovations for old base stations and "old, small, scattered" data centers in an orderly manner. Promote the gradual and steady increase in the proportion of renewable energy used in new data centers year by year.

IV. Actively Promote Pilot Projects for Innovative Substitution of Renewable Energy

(Ten) Accelerate Pilot Applications. Launch pilot applications for deep-sea floating offshore wind power, bio-methane projects with an annual production capacity of 10 million cubic meters, and promote the deep combined operation of concentrated solar power with wind and photovoltaic power. Conduct pilot projects for green direct power supply in factories and industrial parks, and advance pilot projects for grid-forming, isolated grid operation, and self-sustaining renewable energy comprehensive utilization. Based on local resource conditions, promote the technical transformation of large coal-fired power plant boilers to co-fire agricultural and forestry waste. Encourage and guide the upgrading of renewable energy equipment and the recycling of waste equipment and facilities. Promote the application of low-carbon and zero-carbon production processes and industrial process reengineering technologies in the steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, and building materials sectors. Implement the promotion and application of hydrogen metallurgy and hydrogen-based chemical technologies. Drive the integration and innovation of the photovoltaic, energy storage, terminal, and information industries, and explore pilot projects for integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, charging, and discharging. Support pilot projects for high-proportion new energy power consumption in parks, enterprises, and large public buildings, significantly increasing the proportion of new energy power consumption. In countries and provinces with the necessary infrastructure, create green energy pilot parks where 100% of new energy consumption is supplied by renewable energy through market-oriented means.

(Eleven) Promote the Integration and Innovation of Business Models. Encourage cross-industry integration of industries such as manufacturing, transportation, construction, agriculture, and forestry with renewable energy, and promote in-depth and three-dimensional development such as photovoltaic sand control, photovoltaic corridors, and marine pastures, forming a situation of innovative substitution development that is deeply integrated and continuously replacing. Support the growth and development of new business entities such as digital energy, virtual power plants, and rural energy cooperatives, and cultivate new business models that adapt to the clean, efficient, and secure substitution of energy. Encourage business model innovations that can promote the multi-variety, multi-sector, and multi-form substitution of renewable energy, vigorously develop comprehensive energy services that support efficient coordination between supply and demand, and accelerate the implementation of new business models such as vehicle-grid interaction and carbon asset management.

V. Strengthen Measures to Ensure the Substitution of Renewable Energy

(Twelve) Strengthen laws, regulations, and standards. Establish and improve laws and regulations that support the priority use of renewable energy, incorporating this into the revision of energy laws, renewable energy laws, electricity laws, energy conservation laws, and others, to clearly define the rights, obligations, and legal responsibilities of various entities in the development and utilization of renewable energy. Accelerate the improvement of the standard system in the renewable energy sector. Integrate the substitution and utilization of renewable energy into the green and low-carbon development standard and specification systems of key sectors through the revision of sectoral standards. Strengthen the implementation of standards and specifications, and promote the evaluation of implementation effects.

(Thirteen) Improve the mechanism for green energy consumption. Fully implement the requirement that non-fossil energy sources are not included in the total energy consumption and intensity control. Use green certificates as the basis for accounting for renewable energy power consumption, and strengthen the effective connection between green certificates and energy conservation and carbon reduction policies. Improve the mechanism for the responsibility weight of renewable energy power consumption, implement the responsibility for consumption to key energy-using units, and strengthen the rigid constraints on high energy-consuming enterprises using green electricity. Accelerate the establishment of a certification mechanism for green electricity consumption based on green certificates. Promote the connection of green certificates and green electricity with the national carbon market. Incorporate the requirement for green electricity consumption into the green product evaluation standards, expand the green product certification catalog, research and formulate relevant policies to support green products in government procurement, and promote policies such as green finance for products primarily produced using green electricity.

(XIV) Implement policies on financial support for science and technology. Make good use of policies related to the promotion and application of the first set (batch) of major technical equipment and key special projects under the National Key R&D Program to support the research and pilot application of key technologies for renewable energy substitution. Establish and improve the green finance mechanism, supporting investment in renewable energy substitution, infrastructure construction, and upgrading across various fields and by various entities. Encourage innovation in credit products and services, providing long-term and stable financing support in accordance with market-oriented and rule-of-law principles.

(Fifteen) Strengthen the market mechanism and price mechanism. Deepen the market-oriented reform of electricity pricing for new energy grid connection, establish and improve the medium- and long-term, spot, and ancillary service market trading mechanisms that adapt to the characteristics of renewable energy, support renewable energy power generation projects in direct transactions with various users and in signing multi-year power purchase and sale agreements with users. Promote the fair participation of renewable energy power generation or integrated utilization systems that have the capability to provide ancillary services in the ancillary service market. Establish and improve the market mechanisms for renewable energy heating, biogas, and clean and low-carbon hydrogen. Establish a sound price mechanism for energy storage. Exempt demand (capacity) charges for centralized electric vehicle charging and swapping facilities with two-part electricity pricing within a specified period. Steadily and orderly promote the participation of distributed new energy power generation in market-based transactions, facilitating the local consumption of distributed new energy. Strengthen the regulation of new energy in fair grid access, participation in the electricity market, and utilization.

(Sixteen) Deepening and Advancing International Cooperation. Strengthen green energy cooperation with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen practical cooperation in green energy, and promote the establishment of a number of best practice green energy projects. Establish a statistical analysis platform for international cooperation in clean energy, and promote international cooperation in the research and development of advanced technology and equipment for renewable energy applications in key areas such as industry, transportation, construction, and agriculture and rural areas. Support exchanges on green certificates and green electricity with international institutions, and promote the internationalization of green certificates. Advance the Belt and Road Initiative's Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, and conduct joint research and exchange training.

(Seventeen) Strengthen publicity and guidance. Mobilize the entire population to participate in the renewable energy substitution initiative, organize training and pilot activities on the application of renewable energy in cities, villages, communities, and parks, vigorously support the sales and use of renewable energy products, and promote residents to practice and popularize green lifestyles.

Development and reform, energy, industry and information technology, transportation, housing and urban-rural construction, agriculture and rural affairs, science and technology, finance, natural resources, ecological environment, financial services, data, railway, and civil aviation departments at all levels should strengthen coordination and cooperation according to their respective functions, enhance overall planning and supervision, and promote the implementation of this opinion. Each region should fully recognize the importance and urgency of the renewable energy substitution initiative, and in light of the actual economic and social development of the region, as well as the construction of a new power system, effectively accelerate the substitution of renewable energy.

National Development and Reform Commission

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

Ministry of Transport

National Energy Administration

National Data Bureau

date

Source: National Development and Reform Commission

Editor｜Hao Shuhui

Review | Liu Jiajun

Planning | Chen Xiaoli