How Can Coal Power Transition from Baseload Generation to a Flexible Dispatchable Resource?

On September 24, the New Generation Coal Power Technology Forum was successfully held in Chongli, Zhangjiakou, under the theme “Enhancing the Flexibility of Coal Power to Support the Development of a New-Type Power System.” Against the backdrop of advancing China’s dual carbon goals and the accelerated construction of a new-type power system, the transition of coal power from baseload generation to flexible dispatchable resource has become a focal point of industry attention.

In 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have jointly issued the Implementation Plan for the Special Action on Upgrading New-Generation Coal Power (2025-2027), further clarifying the transformation pathway for coal power. The forum gathered industry experts to explore the significance of this upgrade, the technical challenges that remain, and coal power’s evolving role within the new-type power system.

In recent years, China’s wind and solar capacity has expanded rapidly, reshaping the nation’s power system. By the end of 2024, total installed generation capacity had reached 3349 GW, with wind and solar accounting for 1408 GW, or 42% of the total. Power generation in 2024 totaled 10 million GWh, of which wind and solar contributed 1.836 million GWh, representing 18.36% of total output.

However, the large-scale integration of renewables has brought new challenges, particularly in renewable curtailment and the need for enhanced system flexibility. In this context, coal-fired generation is increasingly recognized as both the “ballast” and the “regulator” of the power system.

“Coal power units have played a critical role in providing both flexibility and system security,” noted Yu Chongde, Executive Vice President of the China Electricity Council (CEC) and President of its Thermal Power Branch. “With less than 40% of total capacity, coal units generated over 50% of electricity, supported 70% of load regulation, and supplied 80% of district heating. In building a new-type power system, coal units remain indispensable for grid stability, reliable electricity and heat supply, and the integration of renewables.”

For a long time, shifting coal power from a baseload provider to a capacity resource for reliability and system balancing has been viewed as a key measure in developing a new-type power system. According to Chen Jiang, Director of the Safety Supervision Department at China Huaneng Group and rotating President of the CEC Thermal Power Branch, coal power will remain an irreplaceable “cornerstone” and “stabilizer” of China’s energy system for the foreseeable future.

“In the context of rapidly growing renewables, the backstop and balancing role of coal power is increasingly vital,” Chen emphasized. Drawing lessons from past large-scale blackouts in Spain and Portugal, he stressed that building a new-type power system is central to achieving China’s carbon goals—and that transitioning coal from a baseload source to a dual role of “reliability assurance + system flexibility” is critical.

Chen also highlighted significant technological progress, including ultra-supercritical units, double reheat systems, flexible ramping technologies, and CCUS, which not only bolster energy security but also enable large-scale renewable integration. “Next-generation coal technologies should not be seen as incremental improvements to traditional coal power,” he argued. “They must embody systemic and transformative innovation.”

First, equipment safety and reliability are the foundation of innovation. The key lies in developing and improving monitoring technologies for critical unit parameters to continuously enhance operational safety. Li Jinjing, Deputy Director of the Thermal Engineering Research Institute at State Grid Jibei Electric Power Research Institute, summarized research approaches on coal unit reliability under flexible operating conditions. He noted that efforts should focus on areas such as indicator systems, statistical frameworks, cluster-level characteristics, reliability evaluation models, and production support strategies, with the goal of building mathematical models for coal fleet reliability and quantifying the impact of operational parameters.

Second, flexible and efficient development is the key to innovation. “For a certain period of time, coal power remains the most practical and optimal dispatchable resource suited to China’s national conditions,” said Liu Chuang, Senior Engineer at Huairou National Laboratory. He emphasized that developing flexible and efficient coal-fired generation technologies is not only a pressing demand for grid operators and power producers, but also an important reflection of social responsibility. According to him, the performance of coal units should be enhanced in four dimensions: a wider operational range, faster ramping capability, greater fuel efficiency, and cleaner emissions.

From the perspective of energy storage, Chen Jiang proposed: “Strengthen the coupling of storage technologies with coal power. Through the integrated application of thermal storage, electricity storage, and other technologies, the flexibility of coal units can be significantly improved.”

Finally, seeking low-carbon breakthroughs is the driving force of innovation. China’s coal power sector is continuing to advance CCUS technologies, accelerate demonstration projects for co-firing hydrogen, ammonia, and biomass with coal, and quickly establish carbon-reduction demonstration units. These efforts provide strong technological support for the low-carbon transition of coal-fired generation.

At the forum, Liang Faguang, Deputy General Manager of Xi’an Thermal Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., presented China’s achievements in supercritical CO₂ power generation, including the world’s first 5 MW supercritical CO₂ thermal power unit. He emphasized that developed countries in Europe and North America have long attached great importance to low-carbon technologies while imposing technological blockades on China. Therefore, advancing research and improvement of these technologies is of critical importance not only to the energy transition but also to national security. As China accelerates the construction of a new-type power system and advances toward its dual carbon goals, coal power carries a dual mission: ensuring reliable supply while enhancing system flexibility—serving as both the foundation of energy security and a pillar of the green transition.

The road ahead? According to Yu Chongde, the clear direction is to promote coal power’s transformation toward high efficiency, flexibility, low-carbon development, and digital-intelligent upgrading, in order to align with the construction of a new-type power system.

With rapid progress in artificial intelligence, big data, and smart sensing technologies, digitalization is becoming an unstoppable force across all sectors. Chen Jiang noted that advanced technologies such as big data, AI, and digital twins should be fully utilized to improve intelligent operation in areas such as predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, and optimized control—aiming to build safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly smart coal plants.

It is worth mentioning that the Xi’an Thermal Power Research Institute has broken down digital-intelligent application scenarios in coal power, mapping a pathway that vertically evolves from automation and informatization to digital and smart plants, and horizontally extends across eight areas including equipment health management and intelligent operation optimization. This provides new approaches for coordinated development of generation, grid, load, and storage.

“No drop of water makes a sea, no single tree makes a forest.” Forum leaders and guests unanimously agreed that coal power is now at a critical stage of transition—from a baseload power source to a flexible balancing resource. Next-generation coal technologies must not only focus on technological innovation but also on industry collaboration, thereby unlocking the multi-dimensional value of coal in a new-type power system.

“Promoting the development of next-generation coal technologies requires joint efforts from government, associations, enterprises, research institutions, and universities,” said Chen Jiang. “Together, we can advance the green and low-carbon transition of the coal sector, safeguard national energy security, and make greater contributions to the construction of a new-type power system.”