The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration: Focus on promoting equipment upgrades and technological transformation in the fields of power transmission and distribution, wind power, photovoltaic, and hydropower, and support the network-type transformation of photovoltaic power stations.

Energy is an important material foundation and power source for economic and social development. Promoting large-scale equipment renewal in key energy areas is an important measure to better coordinate high-quality development and high-level safety. To thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, fulfill the requirements of the State Council's "Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Replacement," promote large-scale equipment renewal and technological transformation in key energy areas, support the construction of a new energy system, and help achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, this plan is formulated.

I. Overall Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, follow the deployments of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Fourth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, coordinate expanding domestic demand and deepening supply-side structural reform, coordinate high-quality development and high-level safety, implement equipment renewal and technological transformation actions in power generation, transmission, and distribution fields, implement wind and photovoltaic equipment renewal and efficient recycling actions, implement standard enhancement actions, accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system, and cultivate and develop new quality productive forces.

Adhere to market dominance and coordinated linkage, insist on establishing before dismantling and steady progress, encourage the advanced and eliminate the backward, lead with standards and orderly improvement. By 2027, the investment scale in equipment for key energy areas will increase by more than 25% compared to 2023, focusing on implementing the "three-linkage" energy-saving, heating, and flexibility transformation of coal power units, and achieving equipment renewal and technological transformation in power transmission and distribution, wind power, photovoltaic, hydropower, and other fields.

II. Key Tasks

(1) Promote the renewal and technological transformation of thermal power equipment

Continue to promote the "three-linkage" energy-saving, heating, and flexibility transformation to further reduce coal power unit energy consumption and improve unit flexible adjustment capability. Promote demonstration applications of coal-fired biomass power generation technology to support low-carbon development of coal power. Coordinate and optimize the structure of existing units, eliminate and shut down a batch of backward coal power units, and convert a batch of eligible shut-down units into emergency backup power sources. Appropriately relax retirement requirements for coal power units located in urban built-up areas with "relocation from city to suburbs" needs. Based on unit safety and reliability, vigorously promote equipment safety renewal and transformation. Accelerate digital design, construction, and intelligent upgrades of thermal power, building intelligent power plants with intelligent sensing, diagnosis, control, and operation.

(2) Promote the renewal and technological transformation of power transmission and distribution equipment

Encourage comprehensive renovation of old substations and transmission lines, accelerate the renewal of transformers, high-voltage switches, reactive power compensation, protection and control equipment with long service life and that do not meet operational requirements, improving grid operation safety capability. Focus on equipment renovation and renewal in high-altitude, high seismic intensity, heavy icing, cold, typhoon-prone, flood-prone, and wildfire-prone areas to enhance disaster prevention and resistance capabilities of grid equipment. Appropriately advance distribution network construction to improve its carrying capacity and meet the development of distributed new energy and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Focus on upgrading transformer capacity and lines, and smart meter renovation in old residential areas. Utilize central budget investment to guide and promote rural power grid consolidation and improvement projects. Promote research and application of advanced technologies such as flexible DC transmission, AC/DC hybrid grids, low-frequency transmission, and intelligent dispatching, accelerate digital and intelligent upgrades of the grid, speed up the construction of new generation centralized control stations, and improve grid control and fault diagnosis capabilities.

(3) Promote the renewal and recycling of wind power equipment

In accordance with the requirements of the "Measures for the Renovation, Upgrading, and Decommissioning Management of Wind Farms," it is encouraged to renovate and upgrade wind farms that have been grid-connected for more than 15 years or have a single unit capacity of less than 1.5 megawatts. It is encouraged to replace original small-capacity wind turbines with industry mainstream models that have large single-unit capacity and advanced technology, support the application of green low-carbon materials, new high tower technologies, land-saving technologies, high-efficiency and intelligent wind turbines, increase power generation per unit land area, improve the level of equipment refurbishment and reuse, and achieve quality and efficiency improvements in wind energy, land, and grid resources. Promote the establishment of full-process information monitoring for wind farm renovation, upgrading, and decommissioning projects. Encourage power generation enterprises, equipment manufacturers, and research institutions to carry out research on new technologies, new standards, and new scenarios, establish and improve the wind power recycling industry chain system, and cultivate and expand new business models for wind power industry recycling.

(4) Promote the Renewal and Recycling of Photovoltaic Equipment

Support the network-type transformation of photovoltaic power stations, comprehensively improve power generation efficiency and system support capabilities through power electronics technology, digital technology, and intelligent technology. Promote the research and development of residual life assessment technology for photovoltaic equipment in old photovoltaic power stations, encourage the update of key power generation equipment such as high-efficiency photovoltaic modules and inverters, reasonably optimize the development, construction layout, and scale of photovoltaic power stations, improve the energy density per unit area of photovoltaic power generation systems and land use efficiency of photovoltaic power stations, and enhance the power generation capacity of photovoltaic power stations. Promote the development of photovoltaic module recycling and reuse technologies, support the research and development of low-cost green dismantling, high-value component efficient and environmentally friendly separation technologies, and complete sets of equipment based on physical and chemical methods.

(5) Steadily Promote the Renewal and Renovation of Hydropower Equipment

Research to improve the flexibility and wide-load operation capability of hydro turbine generator units, explore hydropower resource potential, improve the operating efficiency of old units, increase the stable operation capability of units, and better adapt to the operation needs of new power systems. For hydropower projects with system demand, station conditions, and guaranteed factors, study and promote unit renewal and renovation. Promote basin hydropower centralized control construction, carry out research on intelligent hydropower related technologies, and gradually promote intelligent operation of equipment and products.

(6) Promote the Renewal and Renovation of Clean Heating Equipment

Encourage provinces in northern regions to incorporate clean heating equipment into large-scale equipment renewal and old-for-new consumer goods replacement action plans based on the operation status of clean heating equipment, and increase local fiscal, financial, and other policy support. Carry out renewal and renovation of clean heating equipment whose warranty has expired, support the development of safe, efficient, advanced, and reliable clean heating technologies, optimize and upgrade clean heating technology routes according to local conditions, ensure long-term sustainable operation after equipment renewal, and ensure that the public can "afford and use well".

(7) Promote Equipment Renewal and Technological Renovation through Standards Improvement

Coordinate the revision of standards such as energy consumption limits for coal-fired generating units and design standards for medium and large thermal power plants, promote the construction of energy-saving, environmentally friendly, flexible, and efficient new-generation coal power units. Accelerate the formulation and application of technical standards in areas such as vehicle-grid interaction and high-power charging, intensify the elimination and renewal of inefficient and failed charging piles, and promote industrial quality improvement and upgrading. Establish and improve standard systems in fields such as charging infrastructure, new energy storage, hydrogen energy, and power equipment, strengthen the supply and upgrading of energy industry standards, and improve equipment efficiency and reliability.

3. Guarantee Measures

(1) Increase support from fiscal, taxation, and financial policies. Increase funding support for equipment renewal and technological renovation in key energy fields, strengthen the connection between banks and enterprises, guide financial institutions to enhance support for equipment renewal and technological renovation, make good use of re-lending, fiscal interest subsidies, and other support policies, and expand the issuance of medium- and long-term loans in manufacturing.

(2) Strengthen factor guarantees. Encourage localities to strengthen the guarantee of factor resources for enterprise technological renovation projects, prioritize land use and energy consumption involved in technological renovation projects, and simplify preliminary approval procedures for technological renovation projects that do not involve new land and mainly focus on equipment renewal.

(3) Strengthen innovation support. Focus on major technical equipment "bottleneck" problems, actively carry out scientific and technological research on major technical equipment. Improve mechanisms such as "list-based responsibility," "competition," and the first demonstration application of energy field key equipment, accelerate the industrial application of innovative achievements, and actively utilize national key R&D programs and other scientific and technological special projects to support equipment renewal and technological renovation in key energy fields.