China’s Clean Energy Expo 2021 kicks off in Beijing

Chinese energy industry professionals and policymakers will meet in Beijing today, beginning the two-day 2021 Clean Energy Expo China.

The annual event brings together utility operators, asset owners, developers, policymakers and planners from across the energy industry. The expo comes a month after President Xi Jinping released China’s 14th Five Year Plan—which included an outline of Beijing’s energy priorities from 2021-2025. Xi affirmed that China aims to install 1200GW of solar and wind power by 2030, accounting for 20% of Chinese energy supply. Energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie projects wind capacity will meet this goal with government subsidies and future private sector-driven growth spurred by cheap prices.

Beijing’s focus on renewable energy is driven by a push to ease reliance on OPEC, which accounts for 53% of Beijing’s energy imports. Although Chinese coal remains plentiful, domestic sources of oil and gas are either uneconomical or difficult to access, leading to an eleven million barrel per day demand filled entirely through imported supplies. Expect Beijing to commit to an increased pace of renewable energy investment by the COP26 conference in November and for this to be an area of close cooperation with diplomatic rivals in Washington.