House proposes early phase-out of IRA clean energy tax credits, China's large power grid safety operation technology has made a breakthrough
（2025/05/19—2025/05/25）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. House proposes early phase-out of IRA clean energy tax credits
On the morning of May 22, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a trillion-dollar tax relief package. The plan would eliminate clean energy tax credits approved by Democrats three years ago while supporting increased mining, drilling, and other traditional energy production. The bill, which has now been submitted to the Senate for deliberation, aims to repeal or phase out the clean energy tax credits stipulated in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act passed during the previous president's tenure. The bill removes tax credits for rooftop solar installations and eliminates tax credits for electric vehicles after 2025, though it provides a one-year exemption for electric vehicles produced by automakers that sold fewer than 200,000 vehicles and meet the credit eligibility criteria. Clean energy advocates have stated that the bill would deal a setback to the government's largest-ever historical investment in clean energy.
2. Global remaining recoverable oil and gas reserves stand at 390.8 billion tons of oil equivalent
On May 21, the latest findings of a global oil and gas resources assessment were unveiled at the 29th World Gas Conference. According to the research results, the total global recoverable oil and gas resources amount to 1,868.4 billion tons of oil equivalent, with conventional recoverable resources accounting for 63% and unconventional technically recoverable resources making up 37%. The total global conventional oil and gas resources amount to 1,143.5 billion tons of oil equivalent. Oil accounts for 46.3%, condensate oil for 5.1%, and natural gas for 48.6%. Conventional oil and gas recoverable resources are distributed successively in the Middle East, Russia, the Asia-Pacific, Central and South America, Africa, North America, Central Asia, and Europe. The global remaining recoverable oil and gas reserves amount to 390.8 billion tons of oil equivalent and are distributed in countries such as Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. From a basin distribution perspective, they are mainly located in the Arabian Basin, Western Siberia, the Zagros region, the Amu Darya Basin, the Niger Delta, etc. Natural gas is predominantly concentrated in countries such as Russia, Qatar, and Iran.
3. The world's first offshore wind-solar project moves forward
An offshore solar farm is being deployed close to an existing wind farm as part of a project in the Dutch North Sea. The developers have recently installed an anchoring system that will hold the solar farm in place while an electrical cable connects the array to a nearby wind turbine foundation. The project is being billed as the world’s first offshore solar plus offshore wind project. By combining offshore solar with offshore wind, the site will bring a more continuous flow of electricity to land that could increase energy output by up to five times, while using the same sea area.
Domestic energy news
1. Cracking a world-class challenge! China's large power grid safety operation technology has made a breakthrough
On May 20, the State Grid Corporation of China unveiled an operation control system for large power grids with a high proportion of new energy sources, supporting an increase in China's installed new energy capacity to 1.41 billion kilowatts and boosting the level of new energy consumption to 96.1%. Independently developed by the State Grid Corporation, the system boasts three major functions: simulation analysis, economic dispatch, and fault defense. It has been deployed across more than 60,000 substations and hundreds of thousands of new energy power stations, enabling rapid and economic allocation of power generation, transmission, load, and storage resources amidst daily fluctuations of 360 million kilowatts in new energy output. This addresses the world-class challenge of ensuring safe, economic, and low-carbon operation of ultra-large-scale new energy integration into large power grids. Additionally, the State Grid Corporation announced the launch of flexible DC equipment for offshore wind power, the Guangming Power Grand Model, and standardized achievements in ultra-high voltage DC technology. Experts believe that with technological advancements driving down costs and the accelerated pace of electrification, China is poised to achieve 50% of its electricity generation from clean energy sources by around 2030.
2. The world's highest solar-thermal power plant achieves full operation
Recently, the Zhabuye Integrated Energy Project, which integrates power generation, transmission, load, and storage in Tibet, has reached full operation. This project is the world's first to achieve isolated grid operation of clean energy using a trough solar-thermal power plant as the primary power source in a high-altitude, end-of-grid region. This "Everest" project shoulders the crucial responsibility of pioneering and experimenting, committed to providing safe, stable, and reliable integrated energy supply services 24 hours a day. The project has established a comprehensive isolated grid system for thermal-electric integrated energy, encompassing power generation, load, energy storage, power transformation and distribution, and control systems. The power generation component consists of a 40-megawatt trough solar-thermal power plant and a 35-megawatt photovoltaic power plant, achieving complementary advantages between solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies. On the load side, it can supply both electricity and steam to meet diverse energy demands. For energy storage, it is equipped with a 20 MW/40 MWh electrochemical energy storage device for thermal energy storage, ensuring the stability and continuity of energy supply.
3. China discovers another billion-ton shale oil resource
Recently, a billion-ton shale oil resource has been discovered in the Yingxiongling area of the Qaidam Basin. Shale oil, as an unconventional hydrocarbon resource with "source storage," has not undergone large-scale migration compared to conventional oil. China boasts abundant shale-layer hydrocarbon resources, which represent a crucial strategic area for ensuring energy security and supply. After years of development, the Qaidam Basin oilfields have reached a high level of proven reserve utilization and are facing significant pressure from declining production, necessitating the exploration of new areas. To ensure sustained reserve growth and production increase in the oilfields, starting from 2021, relevant research teams have been reviewing and studying the geological characteristics of unconventional oil and gas in the Qaidam Basin, as well as key technologies for exploration and development. They have innovated management concepts and carried out integrated geological and engineering exploration practices for unconventional oil and gas in the Qaidam Basin, with a focus on the Yingxiongling shale oil.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
