Building a Modern Energy System: A Mining Perspective on the “14th Five-Year Plan for a Modern Energy System”

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration recently issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for a Modern Energy System” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”). A comprehensive review of the Plan reveals that the role of the mining sector in building a modern energy system can be appropriately assessed from both regulatory and incentive perspectives.

“Clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient” is the core essence of a modern energy system. The Plan seeks to advance the development of a modern energy system by focusing on three key areas: strengthening the security and stability of the energy supply chain; promoting a green and low-carbon transformation in energy production and consumption; and elevating the modernization of the energy industry chain.

The “Plan” proposes During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, coal consumption growth will be strictly and reasonably curtailed. Non-fossil energy will be vigorously developed, with its share of total energy consumption rising to around 20% by 2025—an increase of approximately 4.1 percentage points compared with 2020. This implies a gradual reduction in the consumption of a certain amount of fossil fuels. At the same time, the Plan calls for promoting an optimized mix of coal and new energy sources while strengthening measures to ensure the secure and reliable supply of coal.

The “Plan” proposes , enhancing oil and gas supply capacity. Oil production is expected to rise steadily, with the goal of returning to 200 million tonnes by 2022 and maintaining stable output over the long term. Natural gas production is projected to grow rapidly, aiming to exceed 230 billion cubic meters by 2025. Meanwhile, the Plan also outlines strategies for the utilization of shale oil, coalbed methane, geothermal energy, and other mineral resources: actively expanding exploration and development of unconventional resources, and accelerating the development of shale oil, shale gas, and coalbed methane. Furthermore, it calls for the vigorous promotion of geothermal heating and cooling, and the orderly implementation of geothermal power generation demonstrations in regions with favorable high‑temperature geothermal resources.

With regard to the development of fossil energy, the Plan dedicates a specific section to this topic: advancing carbon reduction across the fossil‑energy extraction and production chain. It calls for promoting green, low‑carbon fossil‑energy extraction, strengthening environmentally sound coal mining and coal washing and processing, intensifying methane recovery and utilization in oil and gas fields, and accelerating the deployment and application of carbon‑dioxide‑enhanced oil recovery technologies. By 2025, methane utilization from coal mines will reach 6 billion cubic meters, and the raw coal preparation rate will rise to 80%. The Plan also advocates the widespread adoption of advanced technologies and equipment in energy extraction, the accelerated electrification of fuel‑, gas‑, and coal‑fired systems, and an increased share of electricity in the power supply of offshore oil and gas platforms.

This highlights the critical importance of technologies for clean, low‑carbon fossil energy and its integrated utilization. Indeed, taking integrated utilization technology as an example, China has completed research on and issued trial implementation of minimum benchmark standards for the “three rates” of rational exploration and development of 124 mineral resources, thereby establishing a comprehensive national system of indicators for these three rates—mining recovery rate, ore‑beneficiation recovery rate, and comprehensive utilization rate.

The “Plan” proposes Accelerate the development of wind and solar power, and actively promote the adoption of new‑energy vehicles in urban public transport and other sectors. By 2025, new‑energy vehicles are expected to account for roughly 20% of new car sales. Optimize the deployment of charging infrastructure and comprehensively advance coordinated development between vehicles and charging stations. This will further boost demand for metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, platinum, and copper.

The “Plan” proposes Strengthen ecological and environmental governance and restoration in mining areas, and promote the comprehensive utilization of coal gangue. Innovate circular‑economy development models for mining regions, exploring the use of subsidence zones, open‑pit spoil grounds, abandoned open‑pit mines, and decommissioned highly polluting mining sites to develop wind power, photovoltaic energy, ecological carbon sinks, and other industries. This offers new ideas and pathways for the transformation and upgrading of traditional mining areas.

In summary, although the mining industry faces pressures related to ecological and environmental protection, as well as workplace safety, mineral resources remain the cornerstone of development and the foundation of national survival, directly underpinning national energy security, economic security, ecological security, and the broader agenda of sustainable development. With the rapid growth of strategic emerging industries and the gradual achievement of the “dual carbon” goals, the structure of mineral resource demand is undergoing transformation, yet overall demand remains substantial.

Going forward, the mining industry and individual enterprises must accelerate technological innovation, intensify research and dissemination of relevant technologies and standards, enhance the efficiency of comprehensive resource utilization, and contribute to the secure and stable supply of energy while pursuing their own green and low‑carbon development.

(This article was published on Page 1 of the China Mining News on March 30, 2022.)