China’s National Energy Administration on Tuesday issued the first annual report in the country's energy sector focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy development.
The report shows that the rapid development of AI is driving a sustained increase in global electricity demand for computing facilities. According to the International Energy Agency, the electricity consumption of data centers worldwide will nearly double by 2030 compared to 2025.
By 2025, China has built 42 intelligent computing clusters with tens of thousands of computing cards per day, and the total electricity consumption of computing centers nationwide reached 170 billion kilowatt-hours.
In terms of the large-scale industry models, dozens of large-scale models have been implemented in China's energy sector, covering fields such as power grid, new energy, hydro power, thermal power, nuclear power, coal, oil and gas.
"We are forming a virtuous cycle in which the energy industry creates application scenarios, and AI solves problems; the AI raises demand, and the energy industry optimizes supply accordingly. We are seizing the strategic opportunity of the booming development of AI and energy transformation to promote their deep and effective integration," said Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration.
China issues report on integration of AI, energy development
China had deployed over five million 5G base stations across the country by the end of April, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed on Tuesday.
In the first four months of this year, China's telecommunication sector continued its steady expansion along with the progress in the construction of its internet infrastructure such as 5G and gigabit optical network, according to the ministry.
From January to April, China's telecommunications businesses volume, calculated at constant prices, grew by 8 percent year on year, with fixed broadband and gigabit optical network coverage both posting solid gains.
By the end of April, the country's three major telecom operators served a total of 698 million fixed broadband subscribers, of whom 95.5 percent had access speeds of 100 Mbps or above, while 253 million were on gigabit-or-faster plans.
On the mobile side, 5G penetration continued to climb. The 5.009 million base stations accounted for 38.7 percent of all mobile base stations by the end of April, and 5G users make up 68.7 percent of the total mobile subscriber base.
Cao Jiguang, deputy director of the Technology and Standards Research Institute at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, noted that the numbers underscore a positive trajectory of China's digital consumption demands.
"China's internet consumption demands continued to expand. In the first four months of this year, mobile internet data traffic saw drastic surge, with cumulative national data usage reaching 142 billion GB, up 18.5 percent year on year. The data reflects the growing demands of internet usage across the population, and the continuously surging vitality of digital consumption on the user side," said Cao.
China reports over 5 mln 5G base stations by end of April
