Solar thermal power "warm" hit

The greatest advantage of solar thermal power generation compared with photovoltaic power generation is that the grid connection is friendly, the heat storage is continuous, and the power generation is stable. Therefore, it is most favorable to gradually replace thermal power as the basic power load and become an important approach to prevent and control atmospheric pollution. At the 2014 China Clean Power Summit held at the Solar Thermal Power Forum, the application prospects of CSP and the challenges it will face in the future will be a hot topic for the participating experts.

Prospects for "CSP"

“Photothermal power generation is a strategic renewable energy technology. China’s government’s “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” for the development of renewable energy puts forward the goal of the development of CSP, which is to reach 1 million kilowatts by 2015, which reflects the development of the country. The determination and guidance of CSP power generation. Although technical and economic problems still need to be solved, there are no insurmountable obstacles." In view of Sun Yongan, deputy secretary-general of the China Electricity Council, compared to other power sources, Photothermal power has unique advantages.

First, the large-scale development of CSPs helps to promote the overall development of renewable energy and the transformation of power structures, and the large-scale development of CSP. It can be combined with wind power and photovoltaic power generation in the western and northern regions of China to form a clean power generation system, which greatly increases the proportion of renewable energy in the power supply structure.

Second, the development of CSP has a significant effect on the economy and related industries. The vast majority of the solar thermal power generation industry chain is manufacturing. The integrated operation and control of the solar thermal power generation system has become a new industry. Therefore, solar thermal power generation can also stimulate the development of the economy and a number of emerging industries.

Thirdly, the market for solar thermal power generation is wide and there is great potential for development. China has abundant solar energy resources, especially in the western and northern regions. The land and solar energy resources can meet the needs of large-scale generation of solar thermal power generation.

“China is now facing severe resource pressures. Coal reserves can still be mined for about 50 years, oil is about 46 years, natural gas is about 58 years, so we have to find clean and renewable energy to replace traditional energy. Of course, of these, solar energy is a The main force, said Wang Peiming, director of the solar energy center of Huadian Engineering New Energy Technology Development Company.

"Solar thermal power generation technology is not in the state of brewing, but has already played a major role." Wang Zhifeng, chairman of the National Solar Thermal Power Generation Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, also believes that compared to photovoltaic power generation, solar thermal power generation technology has obvious Advantage. For example, it has stable power over the Internet. Daily from 6 am to 24 pm, it can continue to store heat; waste heat can be used comprehensively, and has successfully solved the heating problem in Dunhuang City, assisted seawater desalination in Hainan, and successfully saved coal. row.

"Photovoltaic energy is converted from photons to electricity, which involves a relatively continuous heat conduction process, so the continuity of energy is better, plus energy storage, can achieve centralized power generation." Bloomberg new energy financial researcher Wang Yuting predicted that the future of solar thermal power generation The penetration rate in renewable energy can reach 20%-30%.

Expect more policies to escort

“With the rapid development of science and technology and manufacturing, the current conditions for solar thermal power generation are basically in place, but the industrial chain has not yet formed.” Talking about the development of the market, Wang Zhifeng confessed that the current market for solar thermal power generation is still blank and the electricity price is the leading factor. Lack of policy incentives, lack of quality system, and lack of research support for engineering technology phases. Coordination of power grid planning and site selection of power stations. In his opinion, the most important thing to do at present is to select a few projects for pilots and then scale up. In this process, we will explore the integration of electricity price mechanism and technological development mechanism, and focus on the development and improvement of integrated operation technology of power stations so as to firmly grasp the design technology and strive to form the necessary conditions for the industrial chain in 2020.

"The cost of CSP is higher than that of photovoltaic power generation, and the essential problem is the small scale of power generation." Han Qinghao, general manager of CGN Solar Energy Development Co., Ltd. also believes that at present, the integrated technology of CSP is incomplete and it lacks a country with high credibility. Level detection agencies, and there is no large-scale demonstration projects, resulting in the failure of large-scale application of core equipment. However, in the long run, the price of solar thermal power generation can compete with photovoltaic power generation, and there is a large space for decline. Before it is fully marketized, it must go through a period of “grinding” that is higher than the photovoltaic power price. This requires the government to give support to the “sunshine policy” of subsidizing the price of electricity, and by driving the industrial scale through actions, the cost will naturally be reduced. In turn promote its development.

At present, the promotion of China's photo-thermal demonstration projects faces two significant policy obstacles. One is how to determine demonstration projects, and the second is how to verify the demonstration price. Industry sources pointed out that the government must promote the construction of demonstration projects, and the number of approved projects will inevitably be limited. Although the final demonstration project support quantity has not yet been determined, once determined, major domestic project developers must compete for “demonstration” hats. . At this time, it is necessary to have a certain standard to measure which project does not support which project. There is no certainty as to how to determine the demonstration price. There are two choices, namely, "unified demonstration of electricity prices" and "principle for determining the price of electricity on a case-by-case basis." Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is simpler to implement the unified demonstration electricity price, but the verification of the electricity price is also more difficult. Because the irradiation conditions and technical routes of different projects are different, the economy is obviously different. The unified electricity price cannot be absolutely fair to every project. The principles of one-on-one discussion can fully consider the actual situation of each project, and ensure that the project has a reasonable level of profitability on the basis of capital preservation. However, the disadvantage of this solution is that each developer will not consciously compare the power tariffs of various projects. At this stage, it is difficult to have sufficient reasons to give each project a reasonable and reasonable price. At the same time, this may also breed rights to rent-seeking space.

Market focus is targeted

There is no doubt that photovoltaic and solar thermal are the two major mainstreams of solar energy. How can the two develop together? Wang Peiming believes that photovoltaic power generation requires relatively low light and heat, flexible layout, can be combined with buildings, and is suitable for distributed energy; light and heat can use low-cost heat storage to produce relatively stable power output, and the scale effect is better than photovoltaic, and is more suitable In order to do the basic support of the power grid, photovoltaic light and heat is a complementary relationship, not a competition or alternative relationship. In the future, the two will jointly play the role of the future world energy consumption pattern.

“Although since 2008, more than 20 high-temperature heat-collecting systems have been built in China and at least five of them have successfully generated power, the subsequent development of these projects still lacks clear policy advancement and support.” In Wang Peiming’s view, At present, in the technical field of CSP, the front-end material-to-equipment production has been greatly developed, but the actual construction and operation of the back-end is still inexperienced; in the service sector, from the collection of front-end light resources to back-end construction and products, There is still no standard system established. However, the solar thermal power project symposium convened by the National Energy Administration prior to the meeting made it possible for the industry to see development. He believes that China’s policy support for electricity price and other policies for CSP demonstration projects will have a great deal of hope this year. The government will support the construction of a number of CSP demonstration projects in the form of demonstrative electricity prices instead of the unified electricity price support. Large-scale commercialization paves the way.

“The commercialization of China's solar thermal power generation has now been recognized by the relevant departments, namely the establishment of experimental power stations - the establishment of demonstration power plants - scale-commercialization, currently at the stage of experimental power plants." Wang Zhifeng suggested that in the first phase, it should be The establishment of a large number of small-capacity power stations can, on the one hand, reduce investment, and on the other hand can fully grasp the technical characteristics. At the same time, through comparison and optimization, several elite teams are selected to enter the next phase of demonstration power plant operation.

"CSP is a clean energy source with basic energy characteristics, and China may become the world's leader." Perhaps, as Sun Yongan said, light and heat do not have such a high manufacturing threshold as wind energy, and there is no particularly high-end manufacturing process. China has advantages in terms of costs and manufacturing industries. During the entire process of industrial development, China will surely be able to lead the world.