On September 24, the New Generation Coal Power Technology Forum was successfully held in Chongli, Zhangjiakou, under the theme “Enhancing the Flexibility of Coal Power to Support the Development of a New-Type Power System.” Against the backdrop of advancing China’s dual carbon goals and the accelerated construction of a new-type power system, the transition of coal power from baseload generation to flexible dispatchable resource has become a focal point of industry attention.

In 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have jointly issued the Implementation Plan for the Special Action on Upgrading New-Generation Coal Power (2025-2027), further clarifying the transformation pathway for coal power. The forum gathered industry experts to explore the significance of this upgrade, the technical challenges that remain, and coal power’s evolving role within the new-type power system.

In recent years, China’s wind and solar capacity has expanded rapidly, reshaping the nation’s power system. By the end of 2024, total installed generation capacity had reached 3349 GW, with wind and solar accounting for 1408 GW, or 42% of the total. Power generation in 2024 totaled 10 million GWh, of which wind and solar contributed 1.836 million GWh, representing 18.36% of total output.

However, the large-scale integration of renewables has brought new challenges, particularly in renewable curtailment and the need for enhanced system flexibility. In this context, coal-fired generation is increasingly recognized as both the “ballast” and the “regulator” of the power system.

“Coal power units have played a critical role in providing both flexibility and system security,” noted Yu Chongde, Executive Vice President of the China Electricity Council (CEC) and President of its Thermal Power Branch. “With less than 40% of total capacity, coal units generated over 50% of electricity, supported 70% of load regulation, and supplied 80% of district heating. In building a new-type power system, coal units remain indispensable for grid stability, reliable electricity and heat supply, and the integration of renewables.”

For a long time, shifting coal power from a baseload provider to a capacity resource for reliability and system balancing has been viewed as a key measure in developing a new-type power system. According to Chen Jiang, Director of the Safety Supervision Department at China Huaneng Group and rotating President of the CEC Thermal Power Branch, coal power will remain an irreplaceable “cornerstone” and “stabilizer” of China’s energy system for the foreseeable future.

“In the context of rapidly growing renewables, the backstop and balancing role of coal power is increasingly vital,” Chen emphasized. Drawing lessons from past large-scale blackouts in Spain and Portugal, he stressed that building a new-type power system is central to achieving China’s carbon goals—and that transitioning coal from a baseload source to a dual role of “reliability assurance + system flexibility” is critical.

Chen also highlighted significant technological progress, including ultra-supercritical units, double reheat systems, flexible ramping technologies, and CCUS, which not only bolster energy security but also enable large-scale renewable integration. “Next-generation coal technologies should not be seen as incremental improvements to traditional coal power,” he argued. “They must embody systemic and transformative innovation.”

First, equipment safety and reliability are the foundation of innovation. The key lies in developing and improving monitoring technologies for critical unit parameters to continuously enhance operational safety. Li Jinjing, Deputy Director of the Thermal Engineering Research Institute at State Grid Jibei Electric Power Research Institute, summarized research approaches on coal unit reliability under flexible operating conditions. He noted that efforts should focus on areas such as indicator systems, statistical frameworks, cluster-level characteristics, reliability evaluation models, and production support strategies, with the goal of building mathematical models for coal fleet reliability and quantifying the impact of operational parameters.