Traditionally, capacity has been procured to meet system peak load with no formal regard for flexibility characteristics. However, this planning paradigm is shifting, with increasing variable energy resource penetration, to consider system flexibility requirements in addition to peak capacity....

We examine the challenges to China's transition to a low carbon electricity system, in which renewable energy would play a significant role. China's electricity system currently lacks the flexibility in planning, operations, and pricing to respond to conflicting pressures from demand growth,...