Abstract
The new renewable portfolio standard policy issued by China on May, 2019 stipulates specific promotion scheme of a quota obligation mainly on power supply companies and power consumers to sell or buy an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable energy sources. The quota is essentially switched from supply side to demand side and will be provincially distributed and assessed, consequently motivating provincial power system to accommodate more renewable energy power. This paper proposes a prospect analysis by assessing completion pressure of newly-modified quota in 30 provinces across China mainland. Results show that seventeen provinces enjoy challenging completion pressure while ten provinces make it relatively easy to complete. Structural data analysis towards provincial power supply structure and electricity balance is then put forward and reveals unfavorable factors for activating completion potential. Systematical measures are correspondingly introduced from supply side, grid side and demand side of power system, with accompanying policy implications towards core position of power grid corporation and coordinated market-based mechanism simultaneously proposed.
Highlights
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), high curtailment has been reported in China in parallel with the rapid deployment of variable renewable energy over the past decade, while a set of actions has contributed to accommodating increasing shares of solar and wind, substantially decreasing the curtailment levels as a result
Which provinces in China are possible to complete their obligated quota while other provinces are under a relatively high completion pressure? How many unfavorable factors against activating the accommodation potential hide behind a complicated provincial power supply structure and electricity balance? What kinds of measures are suitable for different provinces in order to release the accommodation potential? This paper aims to answer these questions and seek out a pathway for ensuring effective implementation of the new provincial non-hydro renewable portfolio standard in China
This paper presents a prospect analysis beginning with illustrating an assessment index of provincial RPS completion and highlights in overviewing provincial completion pressure, proposes a structural data analysis framework to find out favorable factors hiding behind the provincial power supply structure and electricity balance structure, describes how to improve completion conditions for the obligated quota in different or similar provinces, and provides practical experiences from China to optimally integrate the RPS scheme with the physical power system and other energy policies
Summary
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), high curtailment has been reported in China in parallel with the rapid deployment of variable renewable energy over the past decade, while a set of actions has contributed to accommodating increasing shares of solar and wind, substantially decreasing the curtailment levels as a result. Renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policy is the main promotion scheme of a quota obligation on electricity suppliers to supply an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources, usually structured as a quantity regulation and, in most cases, accompanied with tradable green certificates (TGC) created by the government to track the fulfillment of quotas (Zhang et al, 2017). It was first carried out in 1983, and about 25 countries, including Australia, the United States, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Japan, have implemented different forms of RPS. The special effect toward cutting curtailment and promoting the accommodation of photovoltaic (PV) and wind power in China was separately proven by Zhang et al (2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
