Everbright Securities has released a research report outlining a clear policy direction and development path for energy conservation, carbon reduction, and the green transition. From an investment perspective, the report suggests focusing on four core areas. The first is the new low-carbon fuel industry, including hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol, which benefits from accelerating demand for clean alternatives in industrial and transportation sectors. The second is computing-power collaboration, which aligns with the dual requirements of energy conservation and enhanced integration capacity for digital infrastructure. The third involves the construction and operation of zero-carbon industrial parks, which are poised for scaled development utilizing a 'green power for green manufacturing' model. The fourth area is smart microgrids, which serve as fundamental units of the new power system, supporting the efficient use of distributed energy and the integrated coordination of generation, grid, load, and storage.

This analysis follows the release of a new policy document. On April 22, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Performing Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Work at a Higher Level and with Higher Quality." Everbright Securities' key views are as follows:

Supply-Side Reform: Tighter Energy and Carbon Standards to Accelerate Phasing Out of Obsolete Capacity This new policy represents an upgraded, more stringent, and broader top-level strategic design for energy conservation and carbon reduction, building upon the "2024-2025 Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction" and looking ahead to the "16th Five-Year Plan" period and beyond. Regarding industrial upgrades, the policy explicitly calls for strict control over high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects. It mandates that new industrial projects implement equivalent or reduced carbon emission displacement. It also promotes the orderly phase-out of obsolete, inefficient production capacity and outdated technology in accordance with the law. Traditional high-energy-consuming industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, and building materials will face stricter energy and carbon efficiency constraints. This is expected to accelerate the optimization of industry capacity structures, with leading companies possessing technological, scale, and capital advantages likely to benefit directly.

Energy Transition: Accelerated Construction of New Power System and Commercialization of Low-Carbon Fuels The policy identifies green energy transformation as a core pillar for energy conservation and carbon reduction. It emphasizes strict control of fossil fuel consumption and deeper efforts to reduce coal use and control oil consumption. Concurrently, it advocates for vigorous development of non-fossil energy and new energy storage, accelerated construction of the new power system, and innovative development of models like direct green power connections and smart microgrids. These measures aim to enhance the local integration and flexible dispatch of distributed energy, thereby promoting the efficient utilization of green power. The policy supports the development of zero-carbon industrial parks, promoting the 'green power for green manufacturing' model. By leveraging smart microgrids to achieve integrated coordination of generation, grid, load, and storage within parks, the goal is to create fully low-carbon industrial clusters, driving demand for supporting new energy, energy storage, and integrated energy services. In the low-carbon fuel sector, the policy supports the development of electric (hydrogen-powered) heavy-duty trucks and green-fuel ships, while encouraging the blending and substitution of clean, low-carbon fuels. This opens up application space for new low-carbon fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol in industrial and transportation sectors, potentially accelerating technological iteration and commercialization within related industrial chains.

Energy Conservation in Digital Infrastructure: Multiple Technological Pathways, Opportunities in Computing-Power Collaboration For the first time, the policy includes digital infrastructure as a key area for energy conservation and carbon reduction. It explicitly requires promoting energy-saving and carbon-reducing upgrades for facilities such as computing power, communication base stations, and data centers. This involves strict准入 management of energy efficiency indicators like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and enhancing the consumption of renewable energy and the recovery and utilization of waste heat resources. Beyond high-profile areas like computing-power collaboration and liquid cooling technology, the policy also promotes multi-dimensional optimization and upgrades, including equipment selection, cooling architecture, cabinet power density, and intelligent system operation strategies. It supports the development of green, low-carbon, and intensive/recyclable computing power facilities. Companies with comprehensive energy-saving solution capabilities are expected to encounter new market space and development opportunities.

Risk Analysis: Potential risks include a slower-than-expected pace of policy implementation; disruptions to the phasing out of capacity and retrofitting progress in high-energy-consuming industries due to local economic stability pressures; slower-than-anticipated commercialization and iteration of technologies like hydrogen/ammonia/methanol and smart microgrids; and weakened downstream demand caused by macroeconomic fluctuations, which could in turn affect the willingness to undertake energy-saving renovations and green investments.