Promoting AI and Energy Synergy

As the large-scale application of artificial intelligence accelerates, the demand for computing power facilities has surged, leading to increased energy consumption and higher demands on energy supply.

Recently, the National Energy Administration, along with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Data Bureau, issued an action plan titled “Action Plan for Promoting the Synergy between Artificial Intelligence and Energy”. The plan aims to establish a secure, green, and economical energy guarantee system to support AI innovation by 2027, significantly enhancing the interaction between clean energy and computing power facilities. By 2030, the plan targets achieving world-leading levels in the clean energy supply capacity for AI computing power facilities and the research and application of AI-specific technologies in the energy sector.

The issuance of this action plan is a proactive response to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and the systemic challenges posed by the green and low-carbon transition of energy. It aims to combine China’s technological innovation advantages with its energy industry strengths, promoting a virtuous development pattern where energy supports AI development and AI empowers energy transformation.

Encouraging Computing Power Facilities to Participate in Grid Operations

The explosive growth of AI has raised higher demands for energy supply. The rapid application of AI has led to a surge in energy consumption by computing power facilities, which exhibit characteristics such as high density, strong continuity, and sensitivity to power quality. This necessitates the provision of more stable, green, and economical energy guarantees.

The action plan emphasizes the concept of “computing power and electricity synergy”. It proposes establishing mechanisms for interaction between computing power and electricity, using electricity market price signals to guide computing facilities in optimizing energy management and facilitating various forms of computing power scheduling across networks and regions to enhance economic efficiency. It encourages computing power facilities to act as flexible adjustable resources on the load side to participate in grid operations, thereby improving the regulation capacity of the power system and achieving mutual efficiency gains.

In 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments mentioned the “innovation of computing power and electricity synergy mechanisms” in their implementation opinions on the “East Data West Computing” project. Subsequently, a series of specific development measures were proposed in the “Special Action Plan for the Green and Low-Carbon Development of Data Centers” and the “Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a New Power System (2024-2027)”. This year, the concept of “computing power and electricity synergy” was included in the government work report, indicating a tightening policy framework.

AI requires large-scale data centers for training and inference, and in future electricity demands, intelligent computing centers will be a significant new load source.

Lin Weibin, Director of the Energy Policy Research Office of the China Energy Research Society, stated in a WeChat interview that as the proportion of renewable energy increases in the new energy system, the uncertainty on the generation side will rise. The initial training of AI may lead to sudden high loads in local power grids, creating dual uncertainties that challenge the stable operation of local grids. This necessitates enhanced regional power planning and scheduling collaboration to ensure the reliability and stability of the grid.

Additionally, if the generation structure remains predominantly coal-based, the increase in electricity consumption from AI that does not primarily utilize non-fossil energy sources will inevitably lead to significant carbon dioxide emissions.

Supporting Green Power Consumption in Computing Power Facilities

The continuous expansion of computing power facilities directly drives rapid growth in energy demand. According to the International Energy Agency, global data center electricity consumption has grown at an average annual rate of about 12% since 2017, more than four times the global total electricity consumption growth rate.

Lin Weibin further explained that the demand for infrastructure driven by AI development will lead to increased energy consumption and further exacerbate carbon emissions. Moreover, if AI clusters in developed eastern regions, the indirect emissions caused by its electricity consumption may affect the fairness of carbon reduction across regions. Ensuring that AI development aligns with the dual carbon goals requires reasonable planning of its energy use while considering regional emission responsibilities.

In this context, how can China promote the green and low-carbon development of computing power facilities?

The action plan calls for solidly advancing the statistical work on the proportion of green electricity consumption by computing power facilities and carbon emission accounting, strengthening policies for direct green electricity connections, and continuously improving the energy efficiency and carbon efficiency of computing power facilities. It aims to construct a collaborative green and low-carbon development system encompassing green electricity supply, efficient energy use, and carbon emission control.

Specifically, it requires enhancing guidance on the layout planning of computing power facility projects, using the proportion of green electricity consumption as an important reference indicator, and improving the level of green computing power supply. It supports computing power facilities in participating in green certificate and green electricity trading to increase the proportion of green electricity consumption.

Lin Weibin suggested building a policy coordination mechanism to promote the synergistic development of AI and green electricity. AI development should be integrated into energy and electricity development planning, dynamically optimizing the layout of power resources based on its development trends and spatial characteristics. Additionally, it encourages the industrial layout of AI enterprises to be deployed in regions abundant in clean energy. Furthermore, policies should promote AI companies to actively participate in green electricity and green certificate trading, providing reliable and green power guarantees for AI development.