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of electricity generated, and then either replace the benchmark price with a
government-suggested price or allow prices to be determined by competitive
bidding in order to ultimately deliver clean electricity at affordable prices.
(3) Policies to support wind energy in China began with the onshore sector
and gradually expanded to include offshore wind farms. The development
of wind energy early on had been limited to onshore sites until the roll-out
of the Medium and Long Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in
2007, which proposed to “intensify research efforts toward the development of
offshore wind energy technology, make preparations for the survey of offshore
wind resources and pilot demonstration projects, and build 1–2 100,000-kW
offshore pilot wind farms in order to acquire technology and experience for the
large-scale development of offshore wind power in the future.” In 2009, the
Interim Measures on the Management of Offshore Wind Farm Development, the
first policy document focusing exclusively on offshore wind power was released.
Subsequently, policy documents on wind power would invariably include a
separate section dedicated to the offshore sector. In terms of price, the gridprice of electricity generated from offshore wind farms has always been higher
than that from onshore wind power plants. According to the Notice from the
National Development and Reform Commission on Improving the Policies for
On-Grid Wind Power Prices, the guideline feed-in tariff for onshore wind power
varies among the four categories of wind energy areas as determined by the
NDRC, specifically being 0.34, 0.39, 0.43 and 0.52 yuan/kWh in 2019, and
0.29, 0.34, 0.38 and 0.47 yuan/kWh in 2020. The guideline feed-in tariff for all
offshore wind power projects stood at 0.8 yuan/kWh for the year 2019 and it was
lowered to 0.75 yuan/kWh for 2020. It can be seen that while affordable access to
electricity generated in category I and II wind energy areas is ensured, currently
the grid-price of electricity generated from offshore wind farms remains much
higher than that from thermal power plants in the same area.
(4) Policy support was first provided to centralized PV power plants and gradually expanded to distributed PV projects. The Notice on the Implementation
of the Golden Sun Demonstration Project issued in 2009 specified that financial
subsidies would be allocated toward supporting large-scale grid-connected PV
power generation projects constructed in areas rich in solar energy potential. In
2013, the Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Healthy Development of the Photovoltaic Industry proposed to commit significant resources
toward developing the distributed PV power generation market and proceed
with the construction of PV power stations in an orderly fashion. The National
Energy Administration followed up again with yet another document on driving
the implementation of support policies for distributed PV power generation a
year later.
(5) Policy on the development of renewable energy has evolved from a singular
focus on the expansion of scale toward addressing such issues as integration
and curtailment. In 2012, the National Energy Administration issued the Notice
Regarding Improving the Connection and Consumption of Wind Resources.
Similar documents have been released each year since. The Notice on Wind
Z. Lu and G. Zhu
of electricity generated, and then either replace the benchmark price with a
government-suggested price or allow prices to be determined by competitive
bidding in order to ultimately deliver clean electricity at affordable prices.
(3) Policies to support wind energy in China began with the onshore sector
and gradually expanded to include offshore wind farms. The development
of wind energy early on had been limited to onshore sites until the roll-out
of the Medium and Long Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in
2007, which proposed to “intensify research efforts toward the development of
offshore wind energy technology, make preparations for the survey of offshore
wind resources and pilot demonstration projects, and build 1–2 100,000-kW
offshore pilot wind farms in order to acquire technology and experience for the
large-scale development of offshore wind power in the future.” In 2009, the
Interim Measures on the Management of Offshore Wind Farm Development, the
first policy document focusing exclusively on offshore wind power was released.
Subsequently, policy documents on wind power would invariably include a
separate section dedicated to the offshore sector. In terms of price, the gridprice of electricity generated from offshore wind farms has always been higher
than that from onshore wind power plants. According to the Notice from the
National Development and Reform Commission on Improving the Policies for
On-Grid Wind Power Prices, the guideline feed-in tariff for onshore wind power
varies among the four categories of wind energy areas as determined by the
NDRC, specifically being 0.34, 0.39, 0.43 and 0.52 yuan/kWh in 2019, and
0.29, 0.34, 0.38 and 0.47 yuan/kWh in 2020. The guideline feed-in tariff for all
offshore wind power projects stood at 0.8 yuan/kWh for the year 2019 and it was
lowered to 0.75 yuan/kWh for 2020. It can be seen that while affordable access to
electricity generated in category I and II wind energy areas is ensured, currently
the grid-price of electricity generated from offshore wind farms remains much
higher than that from thermal power plants in the same area.
(4) Policy support was first provided to centralized PV power plants and gradually expanded to distributed PV projects. The Notice on the Implementation
of the Golden Sun Demonstration Project issued in 2009 specified that financial
subsidies would be allocated toward supporting large-scale grid-connected PV
power generation projects constructed in areas rich in solar energy potential. In
2013, the Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Healthy Development of the Photovoltaic Industry proposed to commit significant resources
toward developing the distributed PV power generation market and proceed
with the construction of PV power stations in an orderly fashion. The National
Energy Administration followed up again with yet another document on driving
the implementation of support policies for distributed PV power generation a
year later.
(5) Policy on the development of renewable energy has evolved from a singular
focus on the expansion of scale toward addressing such issues as integration
and curtailment. In 2012, the National Energy Administration issued the Notice
Regarding Improving the Connection and Consumption of Wind Resources.
Similar documents have been released each year since. The Notice on Wind