China State Grid will spend about 400 billion yuan (HK$504 billion) this year on its electricity networks.
The plan for grid investment is driven by government policies, as part of the nation’s initiative to upgrade the networks with ultra-high-voltage and smarter technology.
Last month China entered into a deal with United States to restrict the use of traditional fuels, with an aim to address the influx of clean energy and its higher demand.
Under the agreement, by 2030 China will be required to install around 1,000 GW of new clean energy.
The deal has posed a huge challenge for the country as the target has to exceed the amount of coal-fired power generation the country has today.
In order to materialize this deal, China will have to execute larger scale of clean-energy development between 2020 and 2030.
Moreover, China State Grid has to speed up its use of the most advanced ultra-high-voltage transmission technology.
China may have to spend around 180 billion yuan on eight ultra-high-voltage lines by 2017 to develop the renewables and curtail air pollution.
Major power distribution companies have already proposed to the government that 13 more such networks have to be built.
The smart grid technology can deliver larger power capacity over a long distance with higher voltage but less transmission loss.
China State Grid currently connects more than 100 GW of wind and solar capacity using its networks.
By 2040, China needs to spend almost US$4 trillion to renovate its transmission methods as well as power distribution, according to International Energy Agency.
For the next five years, China needs to maintain its energy spending at current levels so that high electricity consumption and contributions from new energy sources can be accommodated.
From 2008 to 2014, China’s annual energy consumption has surged by 51 per cent and was expected to peak between 2035 and 2040.
Sabeena Wahid
editor@greentechlead.com