Clean Power for Industry in China: Policy Enablers for the Industrial Sector

The report argues that China's industrial sector, a major carbon emitter, must transition to clean power through electrification and renewable energy to meet net-zero targets. It focuses on two primary pathways: upgrading industrial energy storage and scaling up green power consumption. To overcome economic and structural barriers, the authors propose ten policy options, including the integration of energy storage into electricity spot markets, the removal of interprovincial trade barriers for green power, and the adoption of innovative long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The report emphasizes that by 2060, industrial electricity demand in China is projected to double, with the majority being met by renewables.

• To achieve net zero, the share of electricity in the industrial energy mix must increase from 25% in 2020 to 56% by 2060, with renewables providing 83% of that power generation.
• High costs remain a significant barrier to industrial energy storage; for example, the life-cycle cost of lithium-ion batteries (RMB 0.3/kWh to RMB 0.6/kWh) often meets or exceeds the average on-grid electricity price of RMB 0.35/kWh.
• China's green power trading is currently limited by a geographical mismatch between renewable resources in the west and north and industrial demand in the east and south, with interprovincial trading accounting for only about 20% in 2023.
• Green power trading remains a small fraction of total power activity, with intra-provincial green power trading representing only 1.2% of total intra-provincial power trading in 2023.
• The report proposes ten policy options to enable clean power, categorized into upgrading energy storage (e.g., integrating storage with spot markets and expanding ancillary services) and scaling green electricity consumption (e.g., eliminating interprovincial trade barriers and enhancing long-term PPAs).
• Long-term green power purchase agreements (PPAs) are still in early stages in China; the report suggests exploring innovative models such as sleeved PPAs, virtual PPAs (VPPAs), and hybrid PPAs to provide more flexibility and stability.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Clean Power for Industry in China: Policy Enablers for the Industrial Sector. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_Power_for_Industry_in_China_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Clean Power for Industry in China: Policy Enablers for the Industrial Sector. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_Power_for_Industry_in_China_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Clean Power for Industry in China: Policy Enablers for the Industrial Sector |date=November 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_Power_for_Industry_in_China_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024clean, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Clean Power for Industry in China: Policy Enablers for the Industrial Sector}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_Power_for_Industry_in_China_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }