Green power markets + Audi's electric behemoth • China.Table

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Profile: Angela Titzrath, Head of HHLA

Dear reader,

These are turbulent times, and in Europe, almost everything revolves around the war in Ukraine. Concerns about Western sanctions have apparently also convinced China to import slightly less oil and coal from Russia. Meanwhile, the Corona situation in the People’s Republic remains tense – even if Shanghai again registered fewer than 20,000 new infections on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, many businesses continue to run as smoothly as they can. And efforts to improve sustainability are not standing still either. China wants to establish a trading center for green power. We have noticed that, while this difficult project takes time, it is making steady progress. In parallel, reforms in the power sector and the development of supraregional power grids help to provide green power across the country.

Green power would also be a boon to the environmental footprint of the new electric behemoth that Audi revealed in China on Wednesday. The Urban Sphere is a luxury van with electric drive and autonomous driving capabilities. Above all, it’s a lounge on wheels for wealthy chauffeured customers. The virtually presented concept car strikes a chord in a market where many customers enjoy all kinds of gadgets and gizmos, analyzes Frank Sieren.

Your
Christiane Kühl

Feature

Where do companies get pure green power?

China’s green power comes from the west of the country: Engineers inspect a solar plant in Yunnan

China plans to set up a trading scheme for green power. But a nationwide platform is still in its infancy. Meanwhile, ongoing reforms of the electricity market are contributing to making the trade of electricity from wind and sun more feasible in the future. Corporate demand for green power is high.

By
Christiane Kühl

First the good news: In China, newly built wind and solar plants can mostly compete with the prices for coal-fired power – even smaller, decentralized solar roofs have become price-competitive. This is primarily due to the increased price of coal. And secondly, because it becomes increasingly affordable to start using renewable energies.

But there’s a catch: How do I buy green power in the People’s Republic when I need it – and only green power? China’s power market is still geared toward conventional power plants. Therefore, the country needs to change electricity trading in general on the one hand – and build up its own markets exclusively for green power on the other.

Both efforts are now underway. A planned platform for green power trading organized a pilot trading day for the first time in September 2021 – with actual sales and contracts. Beijing has also announced reforms in the power sector at the end of 2021, which experts believe will gradually change the playing field and improve the economics of renewable energy.

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