China's Investment in Power Sector to Reach $800 Billion in Next Five Years

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China's investment in the power sector will be about $800 billion in the next five years, an increase of 86% over the previous five years, according to Zhaofeng Wei, the executive vice chairman of the China Electricity Council (CEC) and deputy team leader of the leadership team for preparation of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2011-15) for the electric power industry.

Wei disclosed the result in a recent news conference announcing the results of the research report of the leadership team. The report was jointly worked out by experts from major companies in China's power sector, including the two national grid companies, the top five national power producers and other major stakeholders such as China National Nuclear Corporation (Beijing), State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (Beijing), China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (Shenzhen), China Three Gorges Corporation (Yichang) and China Shenhua Group (Beijing), under the organization of CEC.

According to the report, coal-fired power generation has the lowest costs in China, followed by nuclear power. The current cost for hydropower generation is relatively low, but environmental protection, resettlement and power transmission projects raise the costs. The cost of wind power, solar power, biomass power and natural gas power is much higher than coal-fired power, nuclear power and hydropower.

Based on these conclusions, the Council has developed a strategy for power development in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan and beyond. Priority will be given to hydropower development. Coal power development will be optimized for efficiency and emissions reduction, and nuclear power development will proceed at a rapid pace. Alternative energy and natural gas-fired power will be heavily promoted. Construction of smart grid technology will be accelerated.

According to the plan, China's investment in power sources in the next five years will be about $416 billion, accounting for 52% of the total spent in the power sector. Investment for the grid will be about $384 billion, accounting for 48% of the total. By 2015, China's installed capacity will reach 1,437 gigawatts (GW), an average increase of about 8.5% per year. Of this, the installed capacity of conventional hydropower will reach 284 GW, pump-storage power will reach 41 GW, coal-fired power will reach 933 GW, nuclear power will reach 43 GW, natural gas power will reach 30 GW, wind power 100 GW, solar power 2 GW, and 3 GW for biomass power and others.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.