China's Grid Management Hinders Clean Energy Expansion, CREA Report Finds

The “wasted” wind and solar energy stems from inflexible grid management that continues to position coal as a stabilising source of power and stymies a clean energy expansion that could otherwise generate electricity equivalent to the needs of France, according to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank.

China’s energy demand rose in the first quarter of this year. However, instead of filling the gap with its rapidly expanding wind and solar capacity, it reverted to fossil fuels, according to the report.

“While the Strait of Hormuz crisis has boosted China’s focus on energy security – including through clean energy and electrification – its electricity system is failing to keep up,” stated the CREA analysis for Carbon Brief, a climate news site, on June 4.

CREA found that curtailing wind and solar plants “left China more exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by increasing the need for other fuels”, including coal and gas.