Unlocking Demand-Side Flexibility in China

This report by RMI examines the potential for demand-side flexibility (DSF) within China's industrial sector to support the integration of renewable energy and the development of a zero-carbon power system.

• China experienced significant growth in electricity consumption and peak load volatility between 2015 and 2022, with consumption growing at a compound annual rate of 6.1 percent and peak load growing at 7.1 percent.
• The industrial sector is a critical target for demand-side flexibility because it accounted for 65 percent of China's total electricity consumption in 2022, totaling 5,700 terawatt-hours.
• Developing industrial demand-side flexibility could reduce annual peak load by 3-10 percent and prevent the need for 40–130 GW of new coal power investment in China. Research indicates that seven major industries could achieve demand response capabilities exceeding 20 percent.

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} }