China State Planner and other ministries ordered energy-saving and
decarbonisation retrofits for in‑service coal‑fired units ≥300 MW. Required
measures include through‑flow designs, high‑efficiency combustion, cold‑end
optimisation, waste‑heat recovery and intelligent controls, and accelerated
replacement of end‑use equipment (fans, heat pumps, boilers, turbines,
transformers). Post‑retrofit target is a reduction in generation coal
consumption of at least 5 g standard coal/kWh. The move implements the
new‑generation coal upgrade special programme and requires upgrading
fast‑ramping, deep‑modulation and wide‑load flexibility where applicable, while
encouraging coal–renewables integration. In winter centralized‑heating areas,
CHP units should pursue heat–power decoupling with post‑upgrade minimum‑load
depth targeted below 40%. Units that qualify are encouraged to adopt low‑carbon
measures — coupling with renewables, biomass co‑firing, adding
electrical/thermal storage — targeting a 10–20% cut in carbon emissions per kWh,
with >20% reductions sought where feasible.
