广东省能源领域节能降碳行动计划：完善虚拟电厂、新型储能等新型主体及核电、气电参与电力市场交易机制！Guangdong Province Energy Sector Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Action Plan: Improve new entities such as virtual power plants and renewable energy storage, as well as mechanisms for nuclear and gas power to participate in electricity market transactions!

On November 4, the Guangdong Provincial Energy Bureau issued the "Guangdong Province Energy Sector Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan (2026–2028)." The document proposes supporting the coupling of thermal power and renewable energy through energy storage for peak regulation and integration for transmission to achieve combined carbon reduction effects, actively developing new types of energy storage, increasing research and development of key technologies and equipment, and exploring long-duration energy storage applications.

The document clearly states the active development of new business models for nearby consumption of renewable energy, such as integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging, direct connection of green electricity, smart microgrids, source-grid-load-storage integration, and renewable energy access to incremental distribution networks, to promote the application of green electricity. It also promotes market-based trading of distributed generation, facilitates efficient development and local consumption of distributed power sources, broadens cost recovery channels for "renewable energy + energy storage" projects, and innovates business models.

In terms of power system operation and regulation, the document proposes improving new entities such as virtual power plants and novel energy storage, as well as the participation of nuclear and gas power in electricity market transactions, and strengthening the coordination and connection of market-based mechanisms such as the carbon market, green certificates, and green electricity. It emphasizes flexible interaction among generation, grid, load, and storage, vigorously develops new technologies and models such as virtual power plants and vehicle-grid interaction, and promotes the participation of distributed resources like adjustable loads in power system regulation.

In terms of overall goals, by 2028, the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption in Guangdong Province is expected to reach about 32%; the share of coal-fired power capacity meeting current energy efficiency benchmark levels is targeted to increase by 15 percentage points; energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformations for key projects in sectors such as coal power and refining are expected to achieve energy savings equivalent to 2.6 million tons of standard coal and carbon reduction of 9 million tons; and support will be provided for the construction of 25 zero-carbon parks and zero-carbon factories.

In terms of energy conservation and carbon reduction in thermal power, Guangdong will steadily and orderly shut down a number of old coal-fired units of 300,000 kilowatts or less, and promote the implementation of a number of ultra-(ultra)critical cross-generation upgrades and renovations of 600,000-kilowatt coal-fired units; promote the adoption of zero-carbon and low-carbon fuel co-firing such as biomass and green ammonia, as well as carbon capture, utilization, and storage retrofits for thermal power units with the necessary conditions, aiming to reduce carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour by about 10%; and promote energy-saving and carbon-reducing retrofits for existing old gas-fired units of 9E level and above, while exploring hydrogen co-firing demonstrations for 9F level and above units.

The document also proposes accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies such as ultra-supercritical carbon dioxide power generation, solid-state transformers, frontier photovoltaic cells like perovskite cells, and biomass-based green fuel production. On the consumption side, it supports large-scale application of renewable energy heavy trucks and the improvement of energy replenishment facilities such as charging and swapping stations, as well as green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol refueling; promotes the application of building-integrated photovoltaics, smart microgrids, cold/heat storage, direct photovoltaic-storage systems, virtual power plants, and other technological models, while encouraging participation in demand-side response. This plan was issued by the Provincial Energy Bureau on November 3, 2026.

[Source: International Energy Network]