On November 8, the Energy Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted at the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress and will come into force on January 1, 2025. Industry insiders believe that the promulgation of the Energy Law provides solid support for the long-term development of China's energy sector, effectively promoting the development of new energy in China, supporting energy technology progress, promoting the construction of a high standard new energy system, and providing guarantees for the high-quality development of China's energy industry. It is understood that before the emergence of the Energy Law, China had already formulated separate laws in the energy field, such as the Electricity Law, the Energy Conservation Law, and the Renewable Energy Law, to fill the legislative gap in the energy sector. However, these laws were promulgated relatively early, and a fundamental law is still needed to provide guidance for China's energy development in order to meet the needs of the new era of energy development. The introduction of the Energy Law has effectively filled the legislative gap in the energy sector. In the history of China's energy development, it is the first time that the national energy strategy has been clearly stipulated in law as a basic principle that should be adhered to in the long-term development of energy work. This provides a guide for the high-quality development of energy in the new era and ensures that the energy industry is stable and far-reaching on the track of the rule of law Ma Zhengping, deputy director of the Civil Law Office of the Law Working Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said. The reporter found that the Energy Law consists of nine chapters and eighty articles, including general provisions, energy planning, energy development and utilization, energy market system, energy reserves and emergency response, energy technology innovation, supervision and management, legal responsibilities, and supplementary provisions. This law provides regulations on energy planning, clarifying the requirements for energy planning at the national, national, regional, and provincial (district, city) levels. This provides corresponding institutional support for various and multi-level needs such as national and local, industry and enterprise. The relevant person in charge of the Legal and Institutional Reform Department of the National Energy Administration stated that the Energy Law is a fundamental and overarching law that establishes a series of common and fundamental legal systems in the energy field, providing fundamental legal support for China's energy development. This is an important milestone in the construction of the energy legal system, which will provide important legal guarantees for accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy system. How to develop and utilize renewable energy as a priority? The Energy Law specifies that the state supports the priority development and utilization of renewable energy, the rational development and clean and efficient utilization of fossil energy, the promotion of safe, reliable and orderly substitution of fossil energy with non fossil energy, and the increase in the proportion of non fossil energy consumption. According to the Energy Law, the energy regulatory department of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, shall formulate and organize the implementation of the minimum proportion target of renewable energy in energy consumption. The country is improving the guarantee mechanism for the consumption of renewable energy electricity. At the same time, relevant departments monitor and assess the implementation of the minimum proportion target of renewable energy in energy consumption and the responsibility for the consumption of renewable energy electricity. From the perspective of renewable energy categories, the Energy Law proposes that the state coordinate hydropower development and ecological protection, and strictly control the development and construction of small-scale hydropower stations. Promote the development and utilization of wind and solar energy, adhere to both centralized and distributed approaches, accelerate the construction of wind and photovoltaic power generation bases, support the development and utilization of distributed wind and photovoltaic power generation nearby, develop offshore wind power in a reasonable and orderly manner, and actively develop solar thermal power generation. Encourage the rational development and utilization of biomass energy, and develop biomass power generation, biomass clean heating, bio liquid fuels, and bio natural gas according to local conditions. Actively and safely develop nuclear power in an orderly manner. Regarding the ranking of energy development, the Energy Law clearly stipulates that renewable energy takes priority over traditional fossil energy, and proposes to prioritize the development and utilization of renewable energy and promote the safe, reliable, and orderly replacement of fossil energy with non fossil energy. This indicates that the status of new energy has been greatly improved in the Energy Law, which will effectively promote the development of new energy Guo Haitao, Director of the Institute of Energy Economics and Finance at China University of Petroleum (Beijing), said. The white paper "China's Energy Transition" recently released to encourage energy technology innovation points out that with the rapid advancement of global green and low-carbon energy transition, the trend of "technology is a resource" is becoming increasingly evident. Technological innovation is the core element for accelerating energy transformation and developing new energy productivity. China is deeply implementing the innovation driven development strategy, focusing on consolidating and extending advantageous industries, transforming and upgrading traditional industries, accelerating the cultivation of future industries, promoting the coordinated development of the energy industry chain innovation chain, and continuously improving the "new" energy content. Focusing on technological innovation in the field of energy, the Energy Law has established a special chapter on "Energy Technology Innovation", clarifying the policy measures formulated by the state to encourage and support energy technology innovation, and promoting the establishment of an energy technology innovation system led by national strategic scientific and technological forces, with enterprises as the main body, the market as the guide, and deep integration of industry, academia, and research. Encourage and support the exploration and development of energy resources, clean and efficient utilization of fossil fuels, development and utilization of renewable energy, safe utilization of nuclear energy, development and utilization of hydrogen energy, as well as research, development, demonstration, promotion, application and industrialization of fundamental, critical and cutting-edge major technologies, equipment and related new materials in energy storage, energy conservation and other fields. Technological innovation is the key to improving energy supply capacity, enhancing green energy consumption levels, and building an energy powerhouse According to Gao Hu, a researcher at the China Institute of Macroeconomics, the Energy Law stipulates management systems for energy technology innovation system, technology innovation driving mechanism, key supported technology directions, major engineering demonstrations, and training of scientific and technological professionals. It establishes key support directions for energy development and utilization, as well as a development model that integrates with digital technology. It clarifies the state's support for the application of advanced information technology in the energy field, promotes the digital and intelligent development of energy production and supply, and promotes the coordinated transformation and integration of multiple energy sources. These measures will effectively promote energy technology innovation and provide strong support for China's high-quality energy development. (New Society)