SOEs all in on environmental goals

An optimized COVID-19 response will further accelerate domestic new energy project construction as well as global cooperation, thanks to the immense potential in terms of economic vitality and consumption in the world's second-largest economy, he said.

Local authorities are also actively laying out plans for more construction of new energy projects. Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, saw 494 projects signed in February, with those related to new energy and energy conservation accounting for 27.8 percent.

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region witnessed 32 contracts signed in February related to green electricity and new energy projects, with a total investment of more than 168.8 billion yuan, including an integrated renewable-energy-based hydrogen production project and wind projects.

With the consistent efforts of central SOEs — the major force of the country's renewable energy industry — China's newly installed combined wind and solar power capacity reached a record 125 million kW last year, bringing the tally of total installed capacity to over 1.2 billion kW.

Newly installed capacity of renewable energy reached 152 million kW last year, or 76.2 percent of the country's total newly added installed energy capacity, including 37.63 million kW of wind power, 87.41 million kW of solar power and 3.34 million kW of biomass power generation, said the National Energy Administration.

Many SOEs that see traditional energy making up a dominant share in their business are also actively seeking transformation. China Energy Investment Corp, whose businesses cover coal, thermal power, chemicals, as well as new energy, is actively laying out plans for hydropower stations, solar power projects and offshore wind farms.

According to Zhang Fang, assistant professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, in addition to direct investment, SOEs are also engaging in green finance.

State-owned generators are actively enlarging their investments in low-carbon technologies and projects to ensure compliance with the carbon neutrality targets and facilitate green transformation, said Zhang.

Several major SOEs have also made clear plans to provide headway for advanced clean technologies, including carbon capture, utilization and storage, smart grid systems, UHV grids, hydrogen energy, green vehicles and electrification, Zhang added.

In December 2021, China Power Investment Corp and China Life Asset Management jointly set up an 8 billion-yuan clean energy fund, which is slated to be invested in 75 clean energy projects.

Amid the rapid development of the renewable energy sector, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has also warned central SOEs to optimize their resources and carry out investment in new energy business in an orderly manner while avoiding excessive competition.

It calls for central SOES to intensify efforts to tackle key core technologies, focusing on energy storage and advanced transmission technologies and facilitating the achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals with the hard power of science and technology.

SOEs should focus on the high-end new-energy equipment industry as well as vigorously develop clean energy equipment such as high-power offshore wind power and high-efficiency photovoltaic power generation so as to make the new energy industry a new engine for China's economic growth, SASAC said.

Zhang Yuzhuo, SASAC chairman, said China will step up efforts to lay out new projects in the fields of new energy, new materials and green environmental protection this year, adding that the government will also strengthen the industrial distribution of high-end manufacturing businesses while speeding up the transformation and upgrade of traditional industries.

Professional integration will be promoted in the fields of mineral resources, engineering contracting, coal power and clean energy in selected central SOEs in 2023, so as to effectively reinforce their competitiveness, he said.