regulation, the difference between the threshold and the plant’s actual output is reimbursed by those power plants operating above the threshold at the time. Renewables generation in the Northeast region increased by 22% in 2017 compared to 2016, with only a 2% increase in capacity. The experience of the Northeast ancillary service market has been extended to seven other provinces, helping to reduce renewables curtailment in China from 11 TWh in 2016 to about 8 TWh in 2017 (NEA, 2017).

Realising optimised planning

Five-year plan

China adopted a central planning system for its economy upon the foundation of the country, making five-year plans for all critical economic sectors. However, since the nationwide “reform and opening up” campaign in 1978, the economy has gradually changed towards a marketoriented one, and the five-year plans have become more about setting policy direction and providing guidance (IEA, 2017a).

In March 2016 central government released the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) on economic and social development. Based on this, the NDRC and the NEA published the 13th Five-Year Plan on the power sector and its subsectors, including coal, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass (NDRC and NEA, 2016c; NEA, 2016c; NEA 2016d). It listed the main targets and tasks for the power sector to the year 2020, alongside the supporting policies. Selected key indicators are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Selected key power sector indicators in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan

Notes: EV = electric vehicle; kWh = kilowatt hour.

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