Computing Power Officially Becomes the New Global Oil; Computing-Electricity Synergy First Written into China's Government Work Report
（2026/05/11—2026/05/17）
Author：Hao-Wang
International Energy News
1. Computing Power Officially Becomes the "New Oil of the 21st Century"
On May 12, 2026, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced that it would partner with an index provider to launch the world's first AI computing power futures market, positioning computing power as the new oil of the 21st century. The rapid development of the global AI industry has driven explosive growth in demand for computing power, with global tech companies allocating a significant portion of their capital expenditures to AI infrastructure. Computing power futures will provide the market with a unified pricing benchmark and risk hedging tool, which is expected to give rise to a new asset class.
Computing power is essentially an extension of the commercialization of electricity. Power consumption in AI data centers is growing exponentially, and power bottlenecks have become a key constraint on the expansion of computing power. As a result, the global energy landscape is undergoing profound restructuring, with tech giants increasingly investing in energy production and China promoting the development of computing-electricity synergy. The future development of the computing power futures market will be highly dependent on the carrying capacity and decarbonization progress of the global power system.
2.Global Transformer Demand Surges
Recently, Hitachi Energy announced an additional investment in its transformer business in Brazil, bringing the total investment to over 2.3 billion yuan. The funds will be used to accelerate the construction of the new plant in Pindamonhangaba and expand the existing plant in Guarulhos. The new plant will have an expanded area, increasing production capacity by 50% compared to the original plan. The project site was selected for its strategic geographic location as a transportation hub and its strong industrial supporting facilities, and it has also received tax incentives and accelerated approval support from the local government.
The global energy transition has spawned three waves of demand, making transformers a core critical device for energy transition. The large transformers produced at the new Brazilian plant will supply the domestic market and be exported to North America, Europe and the Middle East. This investment is an important part of Hitachi Energy's global $9 billion capacity expansion plan, reflecting that transformers have been upgraded to a global strategic commodity and the industry's capacity competition continues to intensify.
3. UAE Withdraws from OPEC, Pledges 371.8 Billion Yuan to Energy and Industrial Transformation
Recently, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced that it will award project contracts totaling approximately 371.8 billion yuan between 2026 and 2028. Prior to this, the UAE had officially withdrawn from OPEC and the OPEC+ mechanism. This move aims to break free from production quota restrictions, monetize oil and gas resources during the energy transition window, and promote the country's economic diversification.
This investment will focus on three core areas: capacity expansion across the entire oil and gas industry chain, strengthening local manufacturing capabilities, and high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence. The company has also formulated a decarbonization roadmap and allocated special funds for the development of low-carbon technologies. This strategic layout not only consolidates the UAE's position in the traditional energy market but also lays the foundation for its transformation into a diversified and innovative economy, which will have a far-reaching impact on the global energy market landscape.
Domestic Energy News
1. Accelerated Development of Computing Power and Green Energy Synergy
In 2026, computing-electricity synergy was written into the government work report, and the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly proposes to promote the coordinated layout of green power and computing power. Currently, regions from the eastern coast to the western hinterland are actively exploring development paths for computing-electricity synergy. New energy-rich regions such as Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guizhou have focused on building key projects including source-grid-load-storage integration and green power direct connection, fully tapping the potential of local consumption of new energy. Eastern regions such as Shanghai are exploring new models of offshore wind power direct supply to data centers. Many regions have built zero-carbon data centers based on their resource advantages, promoting the coordinated planning and layout of new energy and computing power facilities.
Computing-electricity synergy realizes the two-way value of "strengthening computing with electricity" and "promoting electricity with computing". It not only reduces the electricity cost of data centers and improves the green content of computing power, but also enables computing power loads to become regulators of the new power system, helping to improve the level of new energy consumption in western China. The Director of the Beijing Laboratory of Carbon Neutrality Systems Engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology pointed out that computing-electricity synergy is still in its initial stage, the power guarantee system needs to be improved, and the shortage of high-end interdisciplinary talents restricts its large-scale implementation. The Deputy Director General of the Electric Power Department of the National Energy Administration stated that the next step will be to formulate and implement high-quality power plans, improve relevant policy measures and promote pilot projects to facilitate the coordinated development of computing power systems and energy and electricity.
2. Shanghai Jing'an District: Guides Developers to Prioritize Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Design
Recently, the government of Jing'an District, Shanghai issued a document clarifying that it will prioritize the adoption of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) design in urban renewal, and encourage the selection of module-level power electronics solutions such as microinverters and power optimizers to adapt to high-density building scenarios in central urban areas.
With scarce roof resources, Jing'an District focuses on tapping the potential of facade spaces such as building curtain walls and balconies. Pilot projects have covered scenarios including photovoltaic curtain walls and photovoltaic balconies. Through module-level technology, it solves the "barrel effect" of traditional string inverters, reduces the DC side voltage to a safe level, and eliminates the risk of DC arc faults. The next step will be to track new technologies such as perovskite photovoltaics, strengthen BIPV approval control in land transfer and construction drawing review links, and promote the "full installation" of renewable energy applications in new buildings.
3. National Energy Administration Releases Quality Supervision Outline for New Energy Storage Power Station Construction
Recently, the National Energy Administration issued the Quality Supervision Outline for New Energy Storage Power Station Construction Projects, filling the gap in special quality supervision in the industry. China's new energy storage has entered a large-scale development stage, with the installed capacity reaching 136 GW at the end of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 84%. The outline is divided into two parts: general and special. The general part applies to all types of new energy storage power stations and sets multiple supervision stages according to the construction sequence.
The special part sets mandatory supervision nodes for electrochemical energy storage and compressed air energy storage respectively, and adds special supervision nodes for projects reaching a certain scale. The outline applies to the quality supervision of electrochemical energy storage and compressed air energy storage power station construction projects with a power of 100 MW and above in the power industry (power supply side and grid side). Other scales and types of new energy storage power stations can be implemented with reference. It does not apply to user-side energy storage power station construction projects. The quality supervision basis covers mandatory standards and recommended standards, which will effectively improve the quality level of engineering construction.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration, China Energy News)
