Ireland Ends Coal Power Era, China Prioritizes New Energy Consumption in Building New Energy System
（2025/06/23—2025/06/29）
Author：Hao-Wang
International Energy News
1. Ireland Ends Era of Coal-Fired Power Generation
Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has announced that Unit 3 of the Moneypoint power plant on the southwest coast has ceased burning coal for power generation, marking the definitive end of Ireland's history with coal power. After 40 years of operation, the unit has completed a fuel conversion and will now generate electricity using heavy fuel oil. Ireland's Minister for Climate called the early cessation of coal burning a "significant milestone in the energy transition." The plant is set to be transformed into a renewable energy center, developing a zero-carbon hub under the "Green Atlantic" initiative. The fuel conversion at Moneypoint is both the final step in decarbonizing Ireland's energy mix and a measure to ensure supply security during the transition. Its future transformation into a renewable energy hub will leverage existing infrastructure to reduce transition costs, providing a practical example for grid stability and zero-carbon goals in a post-fossil fuel era, particularly for industrial regions exploring green transition pathways.
2. EU Reaches Provisional Agreement on Simplifying CBAM Carbon Border Tax
Negotiators from the EU Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on the European Commission's proposal to simplify the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The new rules are set to take effect on January 1, with the tax amount progressively increasing to align with the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) price. The agreement, part of the Omnibus 'Numero Uno' legislative package, aims to simplify compliance procedures, reduce administrative burdens and costs for EU companies, especially SMEs, and balance the carbon price between EU products and imported goods, thereby encouraging non-EU countries to strengthen their climate actions. The agreement retains key elements of the simplification proposal, expanding the de minimis exemption for importers with annual import volumes not exceeding 50 tons and allowing importers to continue importing during their registration period. The EU Council is expected to formally adopt the regulation in September. The European Parliament states that 90% of importers could be exempted, while still covering 99% of CO2 emissions from major imported goods like iron and steel..
3. Japan Faces Multiple Challenges and Opportunities in Advancing Renewable Energy
According to Japan's latest energy roadmap, the country aims for clean power to account for 40%-50% of its electricity generation by 2040. To achieve this, Japan urgently needs to establish a comprehensive renewable energy supply chain and lower development costs by strengthening procurement cooperation with major Asian players. However, Japan lacks a sufficient domestic renewable energy supply chain, faces high price volatility for parts, and has seen costs for components like solar panels and wind turbines soar by 30%-50%. Building global partnerships with manufacturers in South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China is key to stabilizing the supply chain. Yet, constructing this supply chain presents a dilemma: building it domestically would create jobs but drive up energy costs, while relying on imported components would lower electricity prices but reduce short-term employment. In the long run, it may be possible to achieve both, but a trade-off is necessary in the short term.
Domestic Energy News
1. MIIT: Increase the Use of Renewable and New Energy in the Industrial Sector
On June 26, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a notice on the "Implementation Plan for Deepening Green and Low-Carbon Standardization Work." The document proposes to "strengthen standard-setting to guide the cultivation of green and low-carbon industries." It calls for accelerating the development and revision of standards for complementary multi-energy utilization, including industrial green microgrids, clean and low-carbon hydrogen applications in industry, efficient use of medium-low temperature waste heat, and long-life, high-safety energy storage batteries, to increase the use of renewable and new energy in the industrial sector. The plan also actively promotes research on standards for key common technologies across the industrial chain, such as alternative fuels from various combustible solid wastes, inert electrodes, novel catalysis, green synthesis, and CO2 resource utilization and sequestration. It also aims to accelerate the improvement of standard systems in fields like photovoltaics, new energy vehicles, green computing, green shipping, green aviation, green power equipment, green light industry, and environmental protection equipment to support the cultivation of new drivers for green development.
2. NDRC: New Energy Consumption is a Key Priority for Building a New Energy System
On June 26, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) stated at a press conference that it will make the consumption of new energy a top priority in building a new type of energy system. As of the end of May, the installed capacity of wind and solar power in China reached 45.7% of the total, surpassing that of coal power. To meet the challenge of large-scale new energy integration, the NDRC is enhancing consumption capacity through "three coordinations": first, balancing long-distance power transmission with local consumption by accelerating the construction of large-scale "sand, Gobi, and desert" energy bases and promoting direct green power supply models; second, coordinating the construction of the power grid with regulatory capacity by advancing ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission channels and new energy storage in tandem; third, aligning energy demand and supply by using demand-side response and orderly charging to improve system flexibility.
Currently, the national new energy utilization rate remains above 90%, showing positive results. For the summer peak in electricity demand, the NDRC has made advance preparations to ensure power supply by increasing generation capacity, strengthening inter-provincial transmission channels, and securing coal stocks. The power supply and demand situation during this year's summer peak is expected to be better than last year's, with overall supply guaranteed.
3. Charging Pile Configuration Rate at China's Energy Stations Reaches 45%
On June 28, the "Blue Book on the Development of China's Gas (Energy) Stations 2024-2025" was released at the 2025 Energy Industry Ecosystem Forum. The data shows that traditional gas stations are undergoing a deep transformation from single-energy suppliers to comprehensive service ecosystems. According to the Blue Book, as of the end of 2024, the total number of gas stations in China was 110,600, a year-on-year decrease of 1.92%. Traditional stations are gradually integrating services for oil, gas, hydrogen, battery charging, and battery swapping to meet the diverse refueling needs of new energy vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In 2024, the configuration rate of charging piles at the nation's energy stations reached 45%, and the number of hydrogen refueling stations surpassed 300, forming a "multi-energy complementary" supply pattern.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration, China Energy News)
