The new power system requires the dual impetus of technological innovation and policy measures.
“Under the ‘dual carbon’ goals, the replacement of conventional generating units by new energy sources will pose three major challenges to the new‑type power system,” says Guo Jianbo, Honorary President of the China Academy of Electrical Sciences and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He argues that the new‑type power system must strengthen both technological innovation and the widespread application of advanced technologies.
Release date:
2026-03-22
Source:
“Under the ‘dual carbon’ goals, the replacement of conventional generating units by new energy sources will pose three major challenges to the new‑type power system,” says Guo Jianbo, Honorary President of the China Academy of Electrical Engineering and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He argues that the new‑type power system must strengthen both technological innovation and the widespread application of advanced technologies.
Guo Jianbo made the above remarks at the inaugural “Jixia Electrical Forum.” On August 5, the forum—co-hosted by the Power Systems Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and Shandong University—attracted five academicians from the two academies. Under the theme “Electricity Connects All Things, Carbon‑Based Innovation for the Future,” numerous domestic experts in the energy sector convened to discuss China’s energy development and the construction of a new‑type power system.
The new power system faces a “triangular” challenge.
It is understood that the development of a new‑type power system is an evolutionary process. From the initial conceptualization and the commencement of construction to the full completion of the system, and in pursuit of the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, each stage is characterized by distinct primary contradictions and key factors. However, the enduring overarching challenge remains how to resolve the “contradiction triangle” among economy, security, and the environment.
Guo Jianbo argues that the new‑type power system is a complex, large‑scale cyber‑physical‑social system characterized by multi‑sector and multi‑energy coupling and coordination, with the power system serving as its central hub. It also represents an evolution of the existing power system, integrating both established and emerging technologies, and is shaped by new policies and regulations, innovative institutional mechanisms, updated standards and specifications, and a strengthened industrial foundation—thus embodying novel definitions and guiding principles.
Under the “dual carbon” goals, China’s green power sectors—such as wind and photovoltaic generation—are experiencing rapid growth. According to estimates by Academician Zhou Xiaoxin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, during the carbon neutrality phase, China will achieve a high‑share replacement of fossil‑fuel‑based electricity with non‑fossil energy sources. In particular, green hydrogen‑based power generation, when integrated with wind and solar renewables, could substitute for fossil‑fuel‑based generation by providing long‑duration energy storage and flexible grid regulation. It is anticipated that both “green‑electricity substitution” and “green‑hydrogen substitution” of conventional fossil fuels will serve as key measures for attaining the carbon neutrality target of a new‑type energy system, playing a decisive role in the development of future advanced energy‑electricity systems.
Guo Jianbo argues that replacing conventional generating units with new energy sources will pose three major challenges to the emerging power system: First, the inherent randomness, volatility, low density, and dispersed nature of new‑energy resources result in highly uneven spatiotemporal patterns of generation output—characterized by “high installed capacity but low actual output”—thus creating reliability‑related challenges. Second, new‑energy generation equipment exhibits weak disturbance‑resistance and limited support capabilities, leading to a pronounced tension between rapid, controllable output and constrained capacity. Third, the contradiction between new energy’s substantial contributions to energy transition and environmental sustainability on the one hand, and its relatively modest contributions to system adequacy and security on the other, necessitates coordinating the interests of multiple stakeholders—including various industries, systems, energy types, and power sources—to balance safety, economic efficiency, and environmental considerations, thereby posing institutional and systemic challenges. He emphasizes that safety, economics, and the environment are all policy‑ and technology‑driven metrics, requiring a dual‑track approach that integrates technological innovation with sound policy frameworks.
Facing challenges head-on, government, industry, academia, and research institutions all bear responsibility.
In August, Jinan experienced sweltering weather, yet the academicians’ remarks centered on several key themes—confronting challenges head-on and responding with composure. As Li Shucai, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Shandong University, put it: the inaugural “Jixia Electrical Forum” aligns with the demands of our times, reinforces a sense of responsibility, and leverages the power of education to underpin the in-depth exploration and vibrant implementation of Chinese‑style modernization.
With the rapid development of China’s power system, installed capacity has continued to grow, grid interconnections have become increasingly tight, and the issue of excessive short-circuit currents has gradually come to the fore, posing challenges to the safe operation of both the system and its equipment. Academician Chen Weijiang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences outlined the fundamental principles, key technologies, and demonstration‑project applications of a flexible short-circuit current mitigation approach based on transient topological reconfiguration of the power grid, offering new insights and innovative solutions to address these challenges.
Under the new circumstances, the distribution system serves as a support platform for integrating renewable energy, a data platform for aggregating diverse and massive information, a trading platform involving multiple stakeholders, and a support and service platform for the development of electrified transportation. Its evolution faces numerous technical challenges across both temporal and spatial dimensions, including flexibility, resilience, reliability, and controllability.
Academician Wang Chengshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering believes that, to address the aforementioned challenges, next-generation distribution systems will evolve and exhibit key characteristics such as low carbonization, decentralization, de‑centralization, and digitalization.
To this end, it is essential to foster academic discussions characterized by a spirit of free and open debate. Wang Gang, Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering, believes that advancing the green and low‑carbon transformation of the energy sector is a shared responsibility of governments, enterprises, professional societies, and research institutions. This requires concerted efforts and deeper cooperation among all stakeholders, as well as the promotion of extensive technological exchanges and the sharing of best practices, while accelerating innovation in science, technology, and institutional frameworks.
Keywords:
Electricity,Power grid
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