"NEA: Grid Investment to Exceed 5 Trillion Yuan, Focusing on New Architecture, Technologies, and Services"
Du Zhongming, Director General of the Department of Electricity of the National Energy Administration, stated that grid fixed-asset investment across the country will surpass 5 trillion yuan in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The next step will focus on three “new” areas. First, improving the new architecture of the power grid by building a new-type grid platform that coordinates the development of backbone grids, distribution grids, and microgrids, strengthening grid security resilience, promoting vehicle-grid interaction, and accelerating the construction of large-power charging facilities and charging and battery swapping infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks, thereby supporting the charging demand of over 110 million EVs. Second, making breakthroughs in key new technologies. This includes speeding up the innovative application of grid-forming technology, long duration energy storage (LDES) technology, and power transmission technology for large-scale 100% green electricity bases, and implementing AI + power grid projects to equip the grid with a smart brain. Third, rolling out more and better new services by continuously optimizing grid connection and transmission services for new energy and significantly enhancing the system’s regulation capacity.