Recent History
China's power industry has become increasingly competitive over the past three years as a result of government-initiated structural reforms and China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Power companies, faced with the pressure of competition, are looking to transform their communications infrastructure to boost efficiency and productivity.
China's electric power industry has continuously maintained a high growth rate. By the end of 2000, the total installed power was 315 GW, an increase of 16.5 GW or 5.5% compared to 1999. Hydropower amounted to 77 GW, accounting for 15%; thermal power amounted to 235 GW, accounting for 83%.and nuclear power amounted to 2GW, accounting for 1% of installed capacity. Electricity generation reached 1400 TWh, 13.5% more than in the previous year. In 1999, the construction investment of the electric power industry reached 14 billion US dollars, of which 49.3% were dedicated to thermal power, 12.5% to hydropower 6.4% to nuclear 26.1%, to transmission lines and transformers and 5.7%.to other investments.
In 2007, China’s energy supply and demand both surged ahead at an amazing pace in the shadow of its 11.4% GDP growth. Total energy consumption increased by 7.8% equivalent to 2.65 billion tons of standard coal while the amount of electric power generated grew by 14.1% in 2007, to 3263.2 TWh. Thermal power still accounts for the bulk of the energy generated, 83%, followed by 14% from hydro, 2% from nuclear and less than 0.1% from wind power.
By the end of 2007, China's total installed capacity amounted to 713 million kilowatts. China's power demand continued a steady growth momentum in 2008, up 13% year on year. With the shutdown of small thermal power generating units and the slowdown of investment in power generation, the high growth rate of China's newly increased installation capacity in 2008 will decelerate, and the rate is expected to reach 11.8% year on year.
By the end of 2010, it is expected that the total installed capacity will reach 900 GW. Annual generation of electricity will exceed 3700 TWh.
In 2011 annual generation was 4692.8 TWh.
The structure of China's power industry is expected to remain unchanged for a long time. At present, China's hydropower output amounts to 14.95 percent of the national total, nuclear power output accounts for 1.94 percent and wind power output amounts to 0.26 percent, while coal-fired power output amounts to at least 78% of the national total. China's coal-fired power generation will be in a stage of stable development until at least 2020, and China's installed capacity of coal-fired power generating units will remain at more than 70 percent.
In the long term, China's power industry, boosted by accelerated process of industrialization and urbanization, is projected to have an average annual growth rate of 6.6% to 7.0% in the next ten years. This indicates that the power industry will require a great deal of investment. Currently, investment in hydropower, wind power and nuclear power is increasing. However, investment in coal-fired power generation still ranks first.
Read more about this topic: Electricity Sector In The People's Republic Of China
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