Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China

The report argues that China's industrial sector, which accounted for 65 percent of total electricity consumption in 2022, offers significant potential for demand-side flexibility (DSF). Developing this flexibility across seven major industries could reduce annual peak load by 3-10 percent and avoid 40–130 GW of new coal power investment.

• China's electricity consumption grew at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent between 2015 and 2022, while peak load grew faster at 7.1 percent, indicating increasing load volatility.
• The industrial sector is a primary target for demand-side flexibility because it consumed 5,700 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2022, representing 65 percent of China's total consumption.
• Developing demand response capabilities in seven major industries—where capabilities could exceed 20 percent—could lower annual peak load by 3-10 percent and prevent the need for 40–130 GW of new coal power investment.

APA

RMI (2023). Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-demand-side-flexibility-in-china/

Chicago

RMI. Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-demand-side-flexibility-in-china/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China |date=13 December 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-demand-side-flexibility-in-china/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023unlocking, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-demand-side-flexibility-in-china/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }