1 China’s Energy Transition Strategy in the Context of Global …
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1.3.4.2 “3+1”Energy System Integration
Energy system integration is an overall strategy that puts together multiple energy
sources, technologies, and systems, which involves design, integration, optimization, scheduling, and infrastructure construction and operation of the overall energy
system. It aims to synergize various energy sources and sectors through maximizing
their complementary strength, thereby achieving the optimization of the overall
energy system.
A bridge connecting macro-policy requirements and micro-technical work, energy
system integration seeks to address two issues: (1) link energy system integration
with macroeconomic and social sustainable development; (2) apply energy system
integration to the implementation of specific fields and technologies. As President
Xi Jinping pointed out: “Innovation represents a systematic project. The chains of
innovation, industry, capital and policy are intertwined and mutually supportive.
Carrying out reform in just one or a few processes are far from adequate. It must be
done in a holistic approach and advanced with unwavering commitment. Technological innovation should go hand in hand with institutional innovation. We must get
“both wheels” in motion (Xi 2016)”. Energy system integration can be perceived as
a key component linking the “two wheels” in the energy sector.
Based on the previous research conducted by the author of the chapter on energy
system integration, the key of energy system integration in China’s energy low-carbon
transition involves at least three major issues: energy and economic coordination,
energy and infrastructure coordination, and energy and regional coordination. Each
of the three coordinations is discussed below, and building on the discussions, a new
approach of energy system integration that reinforces the three coordinations is laid
out. The three coordinations and one approach are generally referred to as the “3+1”
approach for energy system integration.
Energy and Economic Coordination—Prioritize and Formulate Sound Plans
for Coordinating Energy Supply and Demand
China has experienced a great amount of problems of mismatch between energy
and economic development in the past, which is mainly manifested in the frequent
disconnection between energy supply and demand during economic development,
resulting in either shortages or surplus of energy provision and subsequent huge
energy waste, as shown in Fig. 1.6 (Li et al. 2019). The early twenty-first century
witnessed acute energy shortages in some parts of China on account of underestimates
of energy demand brought by the burgeoning economy, belated construction of coal,
oil, electricity and other energy plants, and lack of transportation capacity. In the wake
of the world financial crisis in 2008, the “RMB 4 Trillion stimulus package” (ten
actions to spur domestic demand for steady and rapid economic growth) was rolled
out, leading to a slight increase in energy consumption growth. But overcapacity
also occurred in many industrial sectors, including metal smelting, chemical, and
energy sector, with plants running below design capacity (Pan 2014). Since 2014, a
17
1.3.4.2 “3+1”Energy System Integration
Energy system integration is an overall strategy that puts together multiple energy
sources, technologies, and systems, which involves design, integration, optimization, scheduling, and infrastructure construction and operation of the overall energy
system. It aims to synergize various energy sources and sectors through maximizing
their complementary strength, thereby achieving the optimization of the overall
energy system.
A bridge connecting macro-policy requirements and micro-technical work, energy
system integration seeks to address two issues: (1) link energy system integration
with macroeconomic and social sustainable development; (2) apply energy system
integration to the implementation of specific fields and technologies. As President
Xi Jinping pointed out: “Innovation represents a systematic project. The chains of
innovation, industry, capital and policy are intertwined and mutually supportive.
Carrying out reform in just one or a few processes are far from adequate. It must be
done in a holistic approach and advanced with unwavering commitment. Technological innovation should go hand in hand with institutional innovation. We must get
“both wheels” in motion (Xi 2016)”. Energy system integration can be perceived as
a key component linking the “two wheels” in the energy sector.
Based on the previous research conducted by the author of the chapter on energy
system integration, the key of energy system integration in China’s energy low-carbon
transition involves at least three major issues: energy and economic coordination,
energy and infrastructure coordination, and energy and regional coordination. Each
of the three coordinations is discussed below, and building on the discussions, a new
approach of energy system integration that reinforces the three coordinations is laid
out. The three coordinations and one approach are generally referred to as the “3+1”
approach for energy system integration.
Energy and Economic Coordination—Prioritize and Formulate Sound Plans
for Coordinating Energy Supply and Demand
China has experienced a great amount of problems of mismatch between energy
and economic development in the past, which is mainly manifested in the frequent
disconnection between energy supply and demand during economic development,
resulting in either shortages or surplus of energy provision and subsequent huge
energy waste, as shown in Fig. 1.6 (Li et al. 2019). The early twenty-first century
witnessed acute energy shortages in some parts of China on account of underestimates
of energy demand brought by the burgeoning economy, belated construction of coal,
oil, electricity and other energy plants, and lack of transportation capacity. In the wake
of the world financial crisis in 2008, the “RMB 4 Trillion stimulus package” (ten
actions to spur domestic demand for steady and rapid economic growth) was rolled
out, leading to a slight increase in energy consumption growth. But overcapacity
also occurred in many industrial sectors, including metal smelting, chemical, and
energy sector, with plants running below design capacity (Pan 2014). Since 2014, a