Ten Large Renewable Energy Projects in China National 12th FYP to Be into Operation

SGCC takes steps to develop China's smart grid through RENEWABLES INTEGRATION

Shanghai. November 12. INTERFAX-CHINA - As China's largest power grid developer and operator, State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) is keen to see smart grids used in the country. The company has already taken its first step in this area, though work is still at an early stage.

One of the most crucial aspects in preparing for smart grid construction is implementing standards. SGCC has been in the process of stipulating smart grid standards since March 2009, according to Zhang Dongxia, a researcher from China Electric Power Research Institute's (CEPRI) State Grid Simulation Center.
Zhang, who attended the 2nd China Smart Grid Forum in Shanghai on Nov. 9, said SGCC has three departments working on standards along with CEPRI.

There are 92 standards under consideration, with 45 to be completed by the end of this year. The entire process is expected to be finished by 2013.
In 2010, SGCC launched the third bid invitation for the purchase of equipment, including transformers and instrument transformers, for smart grid construction. China Securities Journal reported on Nov. 12 that the company will soon start the fourth bid invitation to purchase smart meters. The company has also started the construction of several demonstration projects for the large-scale development of smart grids, applying standards agreed to so far.

One of the key advantages of smart grids is their ability to regulate electricity transmission from renewable energy sources, which can be unreliable in generating a consistent supply of power.

Zhang noted that SGCC's subsidiary North China Grid Co. Ltd. is constructing a renewable energy complex in northern Hebei province, integrating wind turbines with 100 megawatt (MW) capacity, a 50 MW solar module and a sodium-sulfur battery (NAS) capable of storing 20 MW. Combining wind and solar energy production with storage batteries is one option of creating grid-friendly electricity. SGCC has also requested renewable energy producers to stabilize their electricity output.

Chi Yongning, deputy chief engineer of CEPRI's Renewable Energy Department, said at the same conference that SGCC's standards will require wind turbines to be capable of "low voltage ride through" (LVRT), the ability to keep operating even with sudden temporary drops in grid voltage. Although SGCC is actively researching solutions and technologies related to the smart grid, the company will not develop distributed energy projects in the short term, unlike the smart grid concepts in the U.S. and Europe.

Zhang noted that development of distributed energy projects would erode SGCC's profits, which still depends primarily on income from electricity transmission. Its smart grid strategy is therefore based on long-distance electricity transmission using ultra-high voltage transmission lines.

State subsidies have been limited to SGCC for transmitting electricity generated by renewable energy projects. However, Chi said that the company still regards smart grid development as an opportunity as it can increase transmission of electricity output from large thermal power and hydropower bases in western regions, where numerous wind farms and solar plants are also located.

Mr. Zhang and Mr. China will join REGI2011 as the speakers.

China’s State Grid Energy Research Institute and Vestas concludes first part of “Joint Study on Coordinated Development of Wind Power and the Electricity Grid”

China’s renowned research institution within the energy and electricity industry, State Grid Energy Research Institute (SGERI), and the global wind energy leader, Vestas, have concluded the first part of a “Joint Study on Coordinated Development of Wind Power and the Electricity Grid”. The study is an important joint initiative in enhancing large scale wind energy integration to the electricity grid, and for proactively exploring solutions for mass integration of renewable energy sources. This initiative has both strategic significance and significance for self-driven knowledge generation. 

With prospective growth of wind energy, the ability of the electricity grid to absorb the massive electricity flow is critical for a healthy and sustainable development of China’s wind energy industry. 

The research project undertaken by Vestas and SGERI brings together international experience coupled with local Chinese expertise to seek to develop a holistic tactical solution to solve the current grid challenges in China. 

“As a global player in the wind energy industry, Vestas has substantial experience from many different markets and we have been involved in the developmental challenges, which the local industries have faced. As an integrated part of China’s wind energy industry, it is important that we use our global experience to contribute to the further development and modernization of the China,” says Jens Tommerup, President of Vestas China.

“Being the soft research and consulting institution in the energy and electricity industry, SGERI is committed to drive the sustainable development of China’s power sector and the establishment of a modern electricity grid, so as to support the implementation of China’s energy strategy and the development objectives for new energy source. We spare no efforts in this constant pursuit,” says President of SGERI Mr. Zhang Yunzhou. 

“Through the cooperation with Vestas, SGERI is hopeful to get inspiration from the sophisticated experience in planning of grid connectivity and operations management of wind energy – by approaching the project from both the technical as well as the managerial perspective, we will explore the optimum strategy for a coordinated development, in order to drive a sustainable and large scale development of wind power,” says Ms. Jiang Liping, Vice President of SGERI. 

Supporting the Growth of Renewable Energy Providers 

Emerson provides a wide range of technology solutions that enable renewable energy providers to operate their facilities for maximum efficiency, performance and safety. 

Wind-Emissions-free wind power is being used to generate electricity for an increasing number of businesses and homes around the world – and the market continues to grow. Emerson provides several key technologies to wind power manufacturers in Europe, North America and Asia.

In China, local Emerson engineers leveraged expertise in uninterruptible power supply systems and variable frequency drives to design the power converters that China’s growing wind turbine manufacturers wanted to efficiently convert wind to power. Emerson is now working with three of China’s largest wind turbine companies.

Other Emerson technologies used in wind turbines include Jaure couplings and Leroy-Somer double-fed generators that make it possible for turbines to harness the power of the wind and convert it to electricity that can be integrated onto a power grid. Emerson Process Management offers wide-area data gathering solutions that allow operators to remotely manage and monitor wind farms. Emerson’s portfolio of technologies for the wind-power industry has been further enhanced by the company’s recent acquisition of SSB Wind Systems, a leading manufacturer of pitch control and positioning drives that optimize a wind turbines blade position to ensure the highest energy generation potential.

Solar-The sun’s robust rays are a powerful source of clean electrical power in parts of the world where sunshine is abundant. Emerson technologies, including our highly efficient grid-tie inverters, transform solar energy captured by photovoltaic energy systems into grid-ready AC electricity.

VP Strategic of Emerson will join REGI2011 as the delegates.

Weak grid hampers Chinese wind integration

China is well on its way to generating more than three times its stated target and nearly 3 percent of its power from wind by 2020 - but only if the country's creaky distribution grid can keep pace with the expansion.

Amid an investment boom fueled by rising coal prices and Beijing's drive for greener economic growth, China could have 100 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2020, ten times its current capacity, experts and industry officials say.

China is also slow on reaching global standards for turbine efficiency but should overcome this as its wind-power boom produces several world-class turbine manufacturers.

"Quality control is a big problem," said Shi Pengfei, vice president of the China Wind Energy Association. "Another problem is the power grid. Power grids cannot keep up with the rapid development of wind farms."

In March China doubled its goal for wind power by 2010 to 10 gigawatts - and it is likely to exceed that level this year.

It was the fifth biggest in installed wind capacity in the world in 2007, accounting for about 6 percent of the total of 94 gigawatts, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.

Yet data from the China Electricity Council showed that wind accounted only for 0.8 percent of the overall power generation capacity in the country last year and a meager 0.2 percent of its total electric energy generation.

"We've already had many failures. For example, they burn the converters," Shi said. "In three years, I hope things will get better."

Chinese machine builders, like Sinovel Wind, have set up plants, joining global players like Vestas, Suzlon or the local leader, Goldwind Science & Technology.

"Coal-fired power tariffs in Guangdong are already higher than wind tariffs in Inner Mongolia," said Ming Shao Lin, vice general manager for Inner Mongolia Huadian Huitengxile Wind Power, one of the biggest wind farms in China.

Inner Mongolia, which is the top base for wind power in the nation, plans to install 8 gigawatts by 2010 and 18 gigawatts by 2015, with Huitengxile alone doubling its capacity to 1 gigawatt by the end of 2010.

"The grid capacity is not big enough to transmit all electricity generated from wind," Ming said in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.

Though Chinese law requires the two state-owned power grid operators to provide connections and buy up all renewable energy, they have been slow, especially as wind farms are often remote and wind power generation fluctuates, depending on the weather.

"The government must and fully intends to build the grid out," said Paul Eveleigh, chief executive of Honiton Energy Holdings. "It is the question of whether they do it quickly enough the way everybody wants them to do it."

Smart Grid + Demand Response = Underrated Renewable Energy Storage?

Shaping Demand to Match Supply
Serious discussions about renewable energy usually end up being about energy storage too. Wind and solar power are both intermittent sources of electricity, so if we want to power a significant fraction of our power grids with them, we need a way to store power for windless and cloudy days. The most talked about candidates are batteries, molten salts, pumping water uphill, compressed air, etc. All of this has to do with supply, but what about demand? "Demand response" is very underrated and might play a big role in the future. Read on for details.

How Demand Response Works
So the idea is to have a smart grid that can control certain things that require a lot of energy to shape demand. There are many things that, within certain parameters, can be played with to match electrical supply and demand. For example, let's say that the wind is blowing very strong at night but demand is low. You could lower the temperature in many big refrigerated warehouses with that extra electricity, and over the next day, the temp would progressively rise back up to normal levels, and the A/C system would require less electricity during that time, reducing demand during the following day. It's a way to "store" the extra juice from wind farms. On the flip side, if you have a cloudy windless day and your solar panels and wind farms are mostly idle, you could lower the temperature by a couple degrees on thousands and thousands of water heaters, and let the temps rise by a couple degrees in refrigerated warehouses (but within parameters that would make it safe for food and for water quality), thus reducing demand for electricity at that moment.

You might still have to import electricity from other regions or fire up backup power plants, but that'll happen a lot less often than if you didn't have a smart grid that could do "demand response".

China promises new support to solar development

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing is promising new subsidies to develop China's solar power industry — policies already under fire from the United States as a possible trade violation.

The Finance Ministry announcement late Thursday came amid global talks in Cancun, Mexico, on controlling output of gases blamed for changing the climate. China and the United States are the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters.

Beijing has rejected binding emission limits but is pushing to develop solar and wind power technology to reduce reliance on imported oil and gas and to profit from growing global clean power demand. The government wants at least 15 percent of China's power to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Beijing will create 13 industry zones and pay up to half the price of equipment for solar power projects, the Finance Ministry said. It said other costs will be covered by a subsidy of 4 to 6 yuan (60 to 90 U.S. cents) per watt of generating capacity.

"China will invest more in construction projects with solar power applications," the ministry said on its website.

Environmentalists have welcomed China's promotion of clean power. But foreign business and labor groups complain Beijing is improperly subsidizing its manufacturers and hampering access to its large, fast-growing market.

Old concept, new opportunities

The conventional benefits of pumped storage, coupled with its modern application of integration with intermittent renewable energy technologies, are fuelling its development.

Pumped storage is a well-known energy storage technology. The rapidly increasing renewable energy capacity in the grid is acting as a driver for the growth of energy storage technologies, and pumped storage in particular has a role to play.

The countries which already have a higher penetration of renewable energy into the grid/or are planning for a large renewable capacity, are also planning to ramp up their pumped storage capacity at the same pace. Even companies with higher wind installation are looking to develop their own pumped storage plants for the optimisation of renewable energy sources, while an increasing trend in pumped storage installation can be observed in countries with a higher renewable penetration plan.

Apart from the inbuilt characteristics of pumped storage; two important factors are driving the development of pumped storage power plants for energy storage. These are (i) compatibility of pumped storage with intermittent renewable sources to optimise their performance and (ii) advantages over other technologies for energy storage.

Global trends
According to GlobalData research; the current global pumped storage installed capacity is approximately 132GW. Japan, the US and China are the world leaders in pumped storage installation. Many countries around the globe have plans to aggressively increase their pumped storage capacity.