Chongqing – The allocation of energy resources plays a crucial role in determining a city's economic vitality and competitiveness. Li Jianqin, deputy to the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress and an expert in power inspection and management at the Liangping District Power Supply Branch of State Grid Chongqing Electric Power Company, has long been focused on Chongqing's new energy power strategy.
She suggested optimizing Chongqing's new energy power planning during the second session of the 6th Chongqing Municipal People's Congress in 2024.
Through her research, Li discovered that Chongqing's energy profile includes limited coal and water resources, abundant natural gas, and a lack of strong wind and solar energy potential. This makes the region relatively deficient in primary energy resources and limits its capacity for developing its energy sources.
Li Jianqin is a deputy to the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress and an expert in power inspection and management at the Liangping District Power Supply Branch of State Grid Chongqing Electric Power Company. (Photo/Li Jianqin)
After conducting her analysis, Li concluded that while Chongqing's overall wind and photovoltaic resources are limited, certain regions offer better potential, particularly the mountainous areas of southeastern and northeastern Chongqing.
Thanks to advancements in power generation technology and equipment efficiency, wind power projects in local areas such as Shizhu, Fengdu, and Wanzhou have already exceeded the national average in terms of utilization hours.
Additionally, southeastern and northeastern Chongqing have relatively low levels of economic development, a smaller share of the city's grid load but more conventional power capacity, and abundant wind and solar resources. These factors position these areas as key zones for the development of new energy in the city.
Thus, Li suggested that Chongqing prioritize infrastructure development in these regions, including enhancing grid connectivity and improving energy storage solutions, to accommodate the growth of renewable energy sources.
She also called for targeted policies and incentives to attract investment in renewable energy projects, particularly in wind and solar power, to harness the full potential of southeastern and northeastern Chongqing.
In response to Li's suggestions, relevant departments have placed significant emphasis on advancing the construction of supporting power grids and energy storage systems,to promote the development and integration of new energy projects.
The focus will be on improving utilization efficiency and accelerating the optimization of new energy consumption conditions. Specific measures include enhancing the transmission efficiency of power grids up to 220 kV and maintaining a new energy consumption rate of over 95%.
In addition, as part of Chongqing's plan to conveniently supercharge new energy vehicles, the authorities will use the construction of vehicle networking demonstration projects as a starting point. This will involve the intelligent transformation of power grid infrastructure and the pilot development of smart microgrids to enhance the grid's capacity to absorb renewable energy.