Germany's energy transformation has suffered a reversal, Beijing and Xinjiang have realized off-peak green electricity trading
（2025/05/12—2025/05/18）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. Germany's clean energy output will hit a decade-low in 2025
Recently, the energy think tank Ember pointed out that Germany's renewable energy generation is decreasing, with total power output in the first four months of 2025 expected to fall below 80 terawatt hours (TWh). This data was down 16% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching the lowest level since 2015. To bridge this gap, German power companies have increased their fossil fuel-based power generation by 10% compared to the previous year, causing the proportion of fossil fuels in the power mix to reach its highest level since 2018. Due to unusually low wind speeds, wind power generation capacity was only 39 TWh, marking a 31% decline. The share of wind power in the power mix dropped from 34% in the January-April period of 2024 to 24% in the same period this year. This has sparked public concerns about Germany's commitment to the energy transition.
2. Solar and wind accounted for 100% of new U.S. power generation in March 2025
During March 2025, solar and wind energy made up 100% of the new power generation capacity additions in the United States, with this proportion reaching 97.8% for the entire first quarter. According to the "Energy Infrastructure Update" report issued by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (data as of March 31, 2025), a total of 31 solar power projects were put into operation in March, with a total installed capacity of 446 MW. In the first quarter of 2025, the new installed capacity from solar and wind energy totaled 7,076 MW. Solar energy contributed 72.3%, while wind energy accounted for 25.5%. The remaining 2.2% of new installed capacity came from natural gas (147 MW) and oil (11 MW). Currently, solar and wind energy account for 10.7% and 11.8%, respectively, of the total utility-scale installed power generation capacity. When considering hydropower (7.7%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal energy (0.3%), the overall share of renewable energy reaches 31.5% of the total utility-scale installed power generation capacity. If small-scale solar power generation is further included, renewable energy currently accounts for approximately one-third of the total power generation capacity in the United States.
3. South Korea aims to build the "world's largest" liquefied hydrogen carrier
The South Korean government has established a public-private joint task force to lead the research and development (R&D) of liquefied hydrogen carriers. The task force plans to invest 55.5 billion won in 2025 and aims to complete the construction of the world's largest demonstration vessel by 2027, positioning South Korea as a leader in the hydrogen energy transportation sector. This type of carrier can store hydrogen at -253°C, reducing its volume by 1/800 and thereby enhancing transportation efficiency. The project will involve 43 R&D initiatives from 101 institutions, including South Korea's three major shipbuilding companies, universities, and research institutions. Liquefied hydrogen carriers are regarded as a future-oriented solution for hydrogen transportation, capable of delivering hydrogen on a large scale to the global power sector and transportation systems. Despite the significant technical challenges involved, this technology is expected to enable South Korea to become a key player in the hydrogen energy economy, contributing to the global energy transition and reducing emissions in the shipping industry.
Domestic energy news
1. Beijing and Xinjiang have realized off-peak green electricity trading
With the completion of the 12 million kWh of off-peak green electricity trading from Xinjiang to Beijing in April, Beijing and Xinjiang have jointly realized the "lighting" of Beijing night scene in Xinjiang afternoon sunshine through a new market-oriented trading model of "Xinjiang's green electricity generated at noon, Beijing's load utilized in the evening." From 2016 to 2024, the consumption of externally adjusted green electricity in Beijing increased from 9.8 billion kWh to 35 billion kWh, with the proportion of green electricity in the whole society increasing from 12% to 29%. Since 2025, the Capital Electric Power Trading Center has innovatively carried out inter-provincial green electricity centralized bidding transactions through platform aggregation and other means. As of early May, the volume of green electricity trading from Xinjiang to Beijing has exceeded 32 million kWh. There is at least a two-hour time difference in sunlight between Beijing and Xinjiang. Every April, the peak output of Xinjiang's photovoltaic power generation occurs at 3 p.m. each day, while Beijing's evening peak electricity consumption starts at 5 p.m. The precise alignment of Xinjiang's afternoon photovoltaic power generation peak with Beijing's evening electricity consumption peak has formed a complementary energy pattern in time and space.
2. China's first megawatt-scale natural gas pressure differential power generation project has operated steadily for 200 days
Two natural gas pressure differential generator units with a single power of 3 MW have been operating safely and steadily for 200 days. They have cumulatively generated over 6.5 million kWh of electricity, saving more than 1.6 million yuan in electricity costs. This is equivalent to conserving over 1,900 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 6,500 tons, providing strong impetus for the green development of the oilfield's natural gas industry. This project marks China National Petroleum Corporation's first megawatt-scale pressure differential power generation project and the first power generation project in China's gas storage engineering that couples pressure energy with waste heat utilization. The project operates by utilizing the pressure energy of natural gas. High-pressure natural gas is directed into an expander to perform work, converting the pressure energy into mechanical energy, which then drives a generator to produce electricity, achieving the transformation from "pressure energy to mechanical energy and then to electrical energy." This process consumes no natural gas and has no environmental impact, realizing zero-carbon emissions throughout the entire process.
3. China's first "wind-solar-thermal-storage integrated" ultra-high voltage (UHV) project commences operation
The completion and commissioning of the Longdong-Shandong ±800 kV UHV DC project mark the establishment and operation of China's first large-scale integrated energy base outbound transmission project featuring the integration of wind, solar, thermal, and energy storage. This major energy artery for "West-to-East Electricity Transmission" originates in Qingyang, Gansu Province, and terminates in Tai'an, Shandong Province. It adopts the "double 800" UHV DC transmission technology with a rated voltage of ±800 kV and a rated capacity of 8 million kilowatts. The transmission distance spans 915 kilometers, with a total investment of 20.2 billion yuan. As China's first outbound transmission project for a large-scale integrated energy base integrating wind, solar, thermal, and energy storage, it boasts a supporting power source installation capacity of 14.5 million kilowatts, including 10.5 million kilowatts of new energy. At the China Huaneng Longdong Energy Base, a key power source point, there is also the world's largest and lowest energy-consuming carbon capture project for coal-fired power plants, dubbed the "Carbon Catcher." This project is capable of capturing 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to offsetting the carbon emissions of 600,000 cars in a year.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
