4.2 Breakthroughs in Clean Energy
Technologies
Breakthroughs in energy technologies are an
important part of the technology revolution and
industrial change. Some clean energy technologies are already at the demonstration stage or in
wide deployment and are gradually changing the
global energy landscape. The International
Energy Agency has projected that by 2030
renewable energy will exceed coal-fired power
generation to become the largest power source
globally; and by 2040, renewable power will
account for more than half of all new generating
capacity. In the fuel sector, biofuels and electricity have already replaced oil to some extent.
Clean and low-carbon energy technologies
will make a big difference in driving the global
energy transition. The 760°C ultra-supercritical
power generation technology can improve the net
energy efficiency of a coal-fired power plant by
14 percentage points and reduce CO 2 emissions
by 30%. Technologies like integrated gasification
combined cycle (IGCC), carbon capture and
storage (CCS) and pressurised oxygen-enriched
combustion are advancing rapidly. H-class
heavy-duty gas turbines have been commercialised, and the net efficiency of combined cycle
Fig. 13 Global economic growth versus energy consumption (1965–2015). Source BP and World Bank
Fig. 14 Energy intensity, per capita GDP and population growth in selected regions (2015–40). Source U.S. Energy
Information Administration
Special Report 3: A Study of China’s Technology Revolution
311
Technologies
Breakthroughs in energy technologies are an
important part of the technology revolution and
industrial change. Some clean energy technologies are already at the demonstration stage or in
wide deployment and are gradually changing the
global energy landscape. The International
Energy Agency has projected that by 2030
renewable energy will exceed coal-fired power
generation to become the largest power source
globally; and by 2040, renewable power will
account for more than half of all new generating
capacity. In the fuel sector, biofuels and electricity have already replaced oil to some extent.
Clean and low-carbon energy technologies
will make a big difference in driving the global
energy transition. The 760°C ultra-supercritical
power generation technology can improve the net
energy efficiency of a coal-fired power plant by
14 percentage points and reduce CO 2 emissions
by 30%. Technologies like integrated gasification
combined cycle (IGCC), carbon capture and
storage (CCS) and pressurised oxygen-enriched
combustion are advancing rapidly. H-class
heavy-duty gas turbines have been commercialised, and the net efficiency of combined cycle
Fig. 13 Global economic growth versus energy consumption (1965–2015). Source BP and World Bank
Fig. 14 Energy intensity, per capita GDP and population growth in selected regions (2015–40). Source U.S. Energy
Information Administration
Special Report 3: A Study of China’s Technology Revolution
311