China to further streamline energy layout amid "new normal"

China will spare no effort to further optimize the country's energy structure as the world's largest producer and consumer of energy enters a "new normal", a senior energy official said.

Nur Bekri, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), vowed to take steps to implement an action plan on energy development for 2014-2020, which was released last November by the State Council, in an interview published on the NEA's official website on Thursday.

In the plan, the State Council promised more efficient, self-sufficient, green and innovative energy production and consumption.

It also set a cap on annual primary energy consumption to 4.8 billion tonnes of the standard coal equivalent by 2020.

"As the Chinese economy has phased into a 'new normal', the energy consumption growth rate should also shift gears," said Nur, forecasting annual growth of China's primary energy consumption will slow to around 3.4 percent by 2020.

China has to strike a balance between growth and structural optimization as it is now in a "new normal" state, featuring a moderate economic growth rate. The world's second largest economy finished 2014 with a 7.4 percent GDP growth rate, the weakest annual expansion in 24 years. Its growth target this year was further lowered to 7 percent.

Primary energy refers to the energy embodied in natural resources, prior to undergoing any human-made conversions or transformations.

Coal consumption accounts for about 66 percent of China's primary energy consumption for the time being, 35 percentage points higher than the world average, according to Nur.

Chinese energy consumption has had an average annual growth of 7.9 percent since 2000, 3.4 percentage points higher than that of the last 20 years of the 20th century.

In order to cut the share of coal in energy consumption, China will increase construction of natural gas pipelines in order to reach a total length of 120,000 kilometers, said Nur.

He reiterated the goal of nuclear power expansion to 58 gigawatts by 2020, with 30 gigawatts or more expected from power stations under construction. Installed capacity of hydropower, wind and solar power are expected to stand at 350 gigawatts, 200 gigawatts and 100 gigawatts, respectively.

"Geothermal energy consumption in China will hit a scale of 50 million tons of standard coal equivalent." He added. Endi