多用户绿电直连项目申报启动！石家庄钢铁、石化、零碳园区等迎来绿电利用新机遇The multi-user green electricity direct connection project application has started! Shijiazhuang Steel, Petrochemical, and Zero-Carbon Parks are ushering in new opportunities for green electricity utilization.

Recently, the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Carrying Out Relevant Requirements and Project Application Work for Multi-User Green Power Direct Connection" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). Based on the original green power direct connection policy, it further details the rules for application, construction, and management, and regularly accepts project applications. This move precisely aligns with the low-carbon development needs of the industry, bringing new opportunities for green power use to key industries such as Shijiazhuang steel and petrochemicals, as well as zero-carbon parks and specialty industrial clusters. It promotes nearby and on-site consumption of renewable energy, better meets the needs of green and low-carbon energy transition, and accelerates the construction of a renewable energy-strong city.

So-called multi-user green power direct connection refers to a mode in which renewable energy generation such as wind power, solar power, and biomass power is not directly connected to the public power grid, but supplies green electricity to multiple users through dedicated lines and substation facilities, ensuring clear traceability and allocation of the supplied electricity. Here, "multiple users" refers to multiple different legal entities and does not include residential or agricultural users. Multi-user green power direct connection projects are classified into grid-connected and off-grid types based on whether they are connected to the public power grid, with power sources and loads preferentially deployed within the same municipal administrative region.

The "Notice" focuses on supporting key industries such as steel, petrochemicals, building materials, equipment, computing power, transportation, green hydrogen, and coal power, as well as provincial-level characteristic industrial clusters in their applications. Both new and existing loads that meet the conditions can participate in the application. Among them, applications for new loads accompanied by renewable energy projects must complete approval and filing, and obtain environmental assessment, energy assessment, or construction land approval procedures.

For existing loads, single-user green power direct connection projects can accommodate new or compliant existing loads, and expansion or transformation can be converted into multi-user projects. Enterprises with mandatory green power consumption requirements, such as steel, cement, data centers, lithium battery manufacturing, key energy consumption units with standard coal consumption above 10,000 tons, key carbon-emitting enterprises with annual emissions of 26,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent, export-oriented enterprises and their upstream and downstream entities, industrial parks, zero-carbon parks, and incremental distribution network loads, can all plan projects based on surrounding renewable energy resources.

The reporter noted that this move brings broad benefits to Shijiazhuang. The city is home to leading steel companies such as Shigang and Jingye. The circular chemical industrial park focuses on developing emerging industries such as new chemical materials and hydrogen energy. Shijiazhuang High-tech Zone, Shijiazhuang Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park, Shijiazhuang Economic Development Zone, and Luquan Economic Development Zone have been selected as the first batch of zero-carbon parks in Hebei Province. In addition, there are a number of key energy-consuming, high carbon-emission, and export-oriented enterprises, all of which meet the application criteria.

The "Notice" specifies that the municipal energy authority will take the lead in organizing and planning regional projects. Projects should reasonably plan the scale of renewable energy installations according to the principle of "matching source with load." The proportion of the project's total annual self-generated and self-used electricity to the total available power generation should not be less than 60%, accounting for no less than 30% of total electricity consumption, and no less than 35% before 2030. For grid-connected projects, the proportion of electricity fed into the grid to the total available power generation should not exceed 20%.

The project implements a routine declaration system of 'reporting one project once it is mature.' Projects should be advanced in a coordinated manner according to the plan, with collaborative construction and reasonable scheduling. For projects involving new loads, the loads should be constructed together with power sources, direct connection projects, and energy storage (if any) according to an integrated plan, and in principle, be commissioned simultaneously or proportionally. The investment entity must bear the risk of electricity curtailment on its own. For projects involving existing loads, power sources and direct connection projects must start construction within one year after project approval and be commissioned within three years.

Industry experts believe that multi-user direct connection of green electricity helps improve local green power consumption, reduce corporate energy costs and carbon emissions, and provides new pathways for the green transformation of key industries such as steel and petrochemicals in Shijiazhuang. It will also further stimulate the development and utilization of surrounding renewable energy resources.

[Source: Shijiazhuang Release]

[Editor: Xiao Neng]