Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, recently, the National Energy Administration issued a notice on promoting the large-scale development of solar thermal power generation, proposing to implement a batch of solar thermal power generation projects as soon as possible in conjunction with the construction of new energy bases in desert, Gobi, and desert areas. Strive to increase the annual construction scale of solar thermal power generation nationwide to around 3 million kilowatts during the 14th Five Year Plan period. This means that the large-scale development of solar thermal power generation in China has begun.

Compared to common photovoltaic power plants, photothermal power generation is not well-known to people. According to the principle of photovoltaic effect, photovoltaic power generation uses solar cells to directly convert solar energy into electrical energy, while photothermal power generation is a system that converts solar energy into heat energy and generates power through the process of thermal power conversion. Its principle is basically the same as that of thermal power generation, and the back-end technical equipment is the same. The difference is that the former uses solar energy to collect heat, while the latter uses burning coal, natural gas, etc. to obtain heat. After being equipped with a thermal storage system, the photothermal power generation unit can achieve 24-hour continuous and stable power generation, as reported by Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation.

Such a highly stable renewable energy source is of great significance for building a new type of power system. Photovoltaic and wind power generation are constrained by meteorological conditions, characterized by intermittency, volatility, and randomness, posing challenges to the safety and reliability of power systems. As the proportion of large-scale new energy units in China continues to increase and the proportion of coal-fired power continues to decrease, the wind power and photovoltaic power in the western region will rely on coal-fired power to bundle and send out, which will be unsustainable. Some ultra-high voltage transmission channels, due to the lack of regulated power supply, have a significant difference in transmission power compared to the design value. The generated wind and photovoltaic power cannot be transmitted, resulting in serious waste of wind and light, resulting in resource waste.

Photothermal power generation has dual functions of peak shaving power supply and energy storage. After the solar thermal power generation unit is equipped with heat storage function, not all of them are used for heat generation. Instead, a portion of the heat is stored by heating molten salt and stored in a specially designed insulation storage tank until needed before being taken out. The thermal energy stored in molten salt can sustain power generation for several hours, and theoretically can even reach several days. The solar thermal power station with this special capability can adjust and support new energy with new energy, provide better long-term peak shaving capability and rotational inertia for the power system, and is an effective means for new energy to safely and reliably replace traditional energy. The Electric Power Planning and Design Institute used Xinjiang Power Grid as an example to simulate and calculate the peak shaving effect of solar thermal power generation. The results showed that assuming the construction of 1 million to 5 million kilowatt solar thermal power generation units of different scales, it can reduce the amount of wind and photovoltaic waste by 10.2% to 37.6%.

At the same time, the solar thermal power generation industry has a long chain, which can digest and improve traditional industries such as special glass, steel, cement, and molten salt. It can also drive the development of emerging industries such as new materials and intelligent control. The large-scale development and utilization of solar thermal power generation will become a new growth point in China's new energy industry. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

In order to promote the industrialization of solar thermal power generation technology in China, the National Energy Administration launched the first batch of 20 solar thermal power generation demonstration projects in 2016, with a total installed capacity of 1.349 million kilowatts, marking the beginning of the commercialization process of solar thermal power generation in China. Through the first batch of demonstration projects, relevant enterprises have been driven to innovate independently, breaking through multiple core technologies, and forming a complete industrial chain. Currently, the equipment localization rate exceeds 90%, laying a solid foundation for the large-scale development of photothermal power generation technology in the future. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, as of the end of 2022, there are a total of 9 grid connected solar thermal power generation demonstration projects in China, with a total capacity of 550000 kilowatts. Compared to the goal of increasing the annual construction capacity to around 3 million kilowatts, the scale of solar thermal power generation is expected to experience rapid growth.

However, in practical development, the scale of photothermal power generation has been far surpassed by photovoltaic power generation. The main factor that currently restricts the sustainable development of solar thermal power generation in China is the lack of continuity in relevant policies. For example, after the National Development and Reform Commission approved the benchmark online demonstration electricity price for solar thermal power generation in 2016, the enthusiasm for enterprise construction increased; The "Several Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Non water Renewable Energy Power Generation" issued in early 2020 clearly stated that new solar thermal projects will no longer be included in the scope of central financial subsidies, and the good development momentum of solar thermal power generation will be significantly affected. Unclear policies have led to a lack of market development space for solar thermal power generation in China, and the cost cannot be continuously reduced through large-scale applications. The solar thermal power generation industry, which is in its early stages, is struggling. At the same time, the current financing environment, land policies, and tax policies cannot provide strong support for the healthy development of solar thermal power generation.

By promoting the large-scale development of solar thermal power generation, it is necessary to encourage provinces and regions with conditions to study and introduce supporting policies such as finance, pricing, and land to support the large-scale development of solar thermal power generation as soon as possible. We should plan in advance for solar thermal power generation bases of millions of kilowatts and tens of millions of kilowatts, and take the lead in building a solar thermal industry cluster. The energy regulatory departments of key provinces (autonomous regions) such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang for photothermal power generation should actively promote the planning and construction of photothermal power generation projects, adjust relevant plans or base implementation plans in a timely manner based on research results, coordinate the layout of photovoltaic and photothermal planning, reasonably layout or reserve photothermal sites, and synchronously promote the scale and industrialization development of photothermal power generation projects in the construction of new energy bases in this province. Fully leverage the role of solar thermal power generation in the new power system with a gradually increasing proportion of new energy, and promote a critical leap in solar thermal power generation. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.