Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - As a result of record-breaking rainfall, China's hydroelectric output has increased this year, helpi...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - As a result of record-breaking rainfall, China's hydroelectric output has increased this year, helping the world's largest polluter meet its environmental goals and reduce its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports amid low worldwide supply.
As a result of Western sanctions against Russia, one of the leading energy producers, supplies from that country have been hampered, pushing up prices for coal and LNG globally to record highs this year.
The world's leading importer of coal and LNG, China, has slowed down its demand, which has restrained prices.
According to Li Shuo, senior counsel with Greenpeace, "the scenario in China this year is highly unique, primarily because the COVID-19 limits constrained power consumption and the rapidly expanding renewables are able to satisfy the modest power demand growth."
Business activity was hampered by a lockdown in Shanghai earlier this year and COVID-19 restrictions in dozens of cities, which reduced demand for electricity. The requirement for fossil fuel has decreased as a result of abundant rainfall and rapidly expanding new capacity for various renewable sources.
The region's enormous dams were filled during the highest rainfall that Southern China had seen in 60 years between March and May, which increased hydropower production by 18% in the first five months of the year compared to a year earlier.
The production of thermal electricity, which is primarily generated by coal-fired utilities, fell by 4% between January and May.
The increase in hydropower output is also assisting the world's second-largest economy to avoid the power shortages it had the previous year, which were partially brought on by drought-related changes in dam water levels.
The flood season in southern China started two weeks earlier than usual this year, and average rainfall reached levels not seen since 1961.
China now generates roughly 60% of its electricity from coal, down from over 75% in 2010, with 3-5% coming from gas and the remaining 75% from renewable sources.
A record amount of hydropower was produced in May, up 27% year over year to 121.7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). Additionally, a lot of rain permits reservoirs to retain more water for future hydroelectric generation.
A "REMARKABLE" DEVELOPMENT
Since the power shortage last year, the government has pressed miners to increase coal production, but China is not actually producing more coal-based power.
In a report released last month, the International Hydropower Association claimed that "Only China is keeping pace with net zero pathway for hydropower." Averaging 22 gigawatts (GW) annually over the last five years, more than half of the increase in hydropower worldwide has come from China.
Environmental organisations who are worried about harm to ecosystems and people's livelihoods, as well as neighbouring nations that claim dams on the Mekong are having an impact on water levels in the region, have all criticised its dam-building.
In China, hydropower capacity increased by roughly 23 GW in 2021, accounting for 16 percent of the country's total capacity. Despite being significantly smaller, solar is expanding more quickly. Solar power output rose 13 percent year over year in the first five months of this year, making up a record-high 2.7 percent of all electricity generated.
"The Chinese government expects to add well over 100 GW of additional solar capacity this year, which would set a new record. China has made amazing progress in this area this year. China is well ahead of everyone else in that regard, "said Lauri Myllyvirta, the center's chief analyst for energy and clean air research.
FINAL RESERVE GAS
Ample hydropower is also limiting China's demand for expensive LNG, which is helping to stabilise world prices after they reached a record high in March as a result of the Ukraine situation.
Despite more gas entering through pipelines, imports fell by 20% in the first five months of the year. This year, China's demand decline could push Japan ahead of China as the world's No. 2 importer, analysts predicted.
Ken Kiat Lee, senior gas analyst at FGE, stated that gas "is likely to be employed only as a last resort if more cost-competitive choices have been exhausted."
Although it remains to be seen if renewable energy can sustain its percentage of total demand consumption, China appears to be set to benefit from its investment in renewable energy capacity when power consumption increases as the economy improves.
Four researchers predict that China's power demand would expand by between 3.5 percent and 5 percent in 2022, down from 10 percent in 2017.
It is difficult to predict how long this trend will remain because there are still questions about how quickly the demand for electricity will increase and if renewable energy sources will be able to satisfy the additional demand.
However, it is undeniable that China's power infrastructure is incorporating an increasing amount of renewable energy.
