Wu Jiandong: China's Smart Interactive Grid Development Strategy Report

1. Interactive Power Grid Source and Definition

1. Correctly define the concepts of smart grid and smart network

Smart grid, or SmartGrid, originally means smart grid or smart network. This concept also includes the meanings of smart electronic grid, smart power grid, smart grid (including various grids of electricity, water, heat, medicine, cold, data, etc.) and future grid, which has the characteristics of commercial buzzwords. Its original meaning is to establish a new power customer service information management system. Its core is to promote the optimization of the dispatching system, to enhance the reliability of the power grid to a limited extent, to save expenditures, and to improve energy efficiency. This is a narrow concept of power grid information upgrade, which is the improvement and transformation of part or specific system of the traditional power grid.

2. Based on the actual situation of my country's power grid, we call the interactive power grid an interactive power network, or interactive grid for short. The meaning of smart grid has been included in it.

The definition of interactive grid is: based on the open and interconnected information model, by loading system digital equipment and upgrading the grid network management system, the whole process of power industry, including power generation, transmission, power supply, power consumption, customer power sales, grid hierarchical dispatching, and comprehensive services, can be intelligentized, informationized, and hierarchical interactive management. It is a comprehensive efficiency change that combines industrial revolution, technological revolution, and management revolution. It will reshape the information loop of the grid, build a new feedback method for users, promote the overall transformation of the grid into energy-saving infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, reduce customer costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and maximize the value of the grid.

3. The interactive grid is not only the basic model of the next generation of global power grid, but also the core of China's power grid modernization.

Different from previous industrial changes, this revolution is a leapfrogging, cross-industry, cross-regional, multi-subject joint participation revolution. The interactive grid is not only the basic model of the next generation of global power grid, but also the core of China's power grid modernization.

In fact, the essence of interactive grid is energy substitution, compatible utilization and interactive economy. Technically speaking, interactive grid should be the integration of the most advanced communication, IT, energy, new materials, sensor and other industries, and also the synthesis of distribution network technology, network technology, communication technology, sensor technology, power electronics technology and energy storage technology, which has a direct comprehensive effect on promoting the new technological revolution. Therefore, smart grid has the characteristics of reliability, economy, compatibility, integration and security.

4. The nature and operation function of the interactive power grid

The essence of the interactive grid theory is to use the legal standards and technical means of the information revolution to promote the innovation and upgrading of the most important asset of the industrial revolution, the power grid system, on a large scale, and to establish interaction between consumers and power grid managers. The functions of the interactive grid include:

First, the interactive power grid can realize two-way interactive data transmission and implement a dynamic floating electricity price system;

Second, sensors can be used to monitor and integrate the operating conditions of key equipment such as power generation, transmission, distribution, and power supply in real time. When encountering peak periods of power supply, timely dispatch can be carried out between different regions to balance the power supply gap, thereby achieving optimized management of the operation of the entire power system.

Third, the interactive grid can connect new alternative energy sources to the grid, such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, etc., to achieve distributed energy management;

Fourth, it can improve power supply efficiency, reduce energy loss, improve power supply quality, and solve the problem of commercial operation of power grid;

Fifth, smart meters can be used as Internet routers, enabling the power sector to conduct communications, broadband services or broadcast television signals based on its end users.

2. Interactive Grid Recreates an Innovative China

1. Correctly understand the different development paths of energy efficiency reform in China and the United States

1. Obama's innovative measures to develop renewable energy are the fundamental driving force for the transformation of the US power grid interaction

President Obama wants to focus on the development of renewable energy, so the US power grid system must be reformed and a new energy highway must be created to effectively connect the solar, wind, ocean and geothermal power supplies in Iowa, Ohio and other places. Obama's innovative move to develop renewable energy is actually the fundamental driving force for launching the interactive transformation of the US power grid. In this way, although the United States has not established a national monopoly power grid from an institutional perspective, it can construct a more ambitious unified power grid than China's unified power grid, that is, a unified smart grid with unified standards, high-end transformation, and compatible substitution. Through this, the United States can achieve the synthesis of the power grid nervous system and create the world's largest information resources and the greatest opportunities. Although Obama's energy reform has only been about 100 days, the role of this revolution has long exceeded the progress of the revolution, and its conceptual pull has prompted the US energy reform to have a new place to use.

Obama has catalyzed the development of smart grid into a human innovation movement, and may also turn it into a world trend. However, Obama is not a thinker. At present, the development of smart grid in the United States has not occupied the commanding heights of global energy efficiency. Whether it is a big country or a small country, it is possible to win the crown in this competition and create a new mode of production for mankind. For China, this should be a huge opportunity.

2. Compared with European and American countries, China, which has been relatively less affected by the economic crisis, needs to occupy the commanding heights of the energy revolution of smart interactive grid.

At present, my country is still exploring its grand strategy for coping with the international power industry crisis and transformation. Its preliminary test strategy is the supporting power grid development strategy of "one special, four major" and "four modernizations and one intelligence" currently being promoted by the State Grid Corporation of China. That is, relying on large energy bases, building a UHV power grid consisting of 1000 kV AC and +/- 800 kV DC, forming an electric "highway", promoting the intensive development of large coal-fired power, large hydropower, large nuclear power, and large renewable energy bases, and realizing optimal resource allocation across the country.

Although the unification of the grid skeleton and the unified development of the U.S. grid central system are both aimed at the modernization of energy efficiency, a grid system without a sound central mechanism is difficult to compare with an intelligent grid system. The four twin brothers of the U.S. smart grid are: high-temperature superconducting grid, power storage technology, renewable energy and distributed system integration (RD-SI) and transmission reliability and safety control system. The essence of this grid development strategy is to develop and transform into the "next generation" grid system. The core of its strategy is to break through the smart grid in advance, then build renewable energy and distributed system integration (RD-SI) and power storage technology, and finally integrate and develop into a superconducting grid with low cable loss. The information, digitalization, automation and interactive smart grid proposed by the State Grid have overlapping concepts in the four aspects. Interaction is actually the soul and essence of the four aspects, and can be directly unified as an interactive grid; its operation system has weaknesses in the establishment of distributed systems and power storage technology. The strong smart grid cannot clearly express the upcoming modernization revolution of the global grid. Therefore, this system must be further improved.

The smart grid technologies developed by China and the United States are similar in form but different in spirit. This requires China's power grid system to adjust its strategy as soon as possible, respond flexibly in the transformation of the world's power grid system, and become the ultimate winner.

3. We need to seriously reflect on the rationality of my country’s energy strategy, especially its power development strategy.

my country needs to occupy the commanding heights of the energy revolution, the smart interactive grid, and use it to drive the revolution of the grid system. The informatization of the grid system is the most likely cause for my country to dominate the world in the energy revolution. It should not only become a major turning point opportunity for my country to build a domestic demand economy, but also a priority breakthrough industry for my country's energy revolution. This means that it is necessary to make large-scale adjustments to the development strategy of China's power grid. Its primary development goal should be adjusted from the transformation of the grid transmission mode, that is, the UHV plan, to the efficiency revolution of the grid, that is, the transformation of the interactive grid. This goal is also the strategic commanding heights of the international grid transformation. No country has fully occupied it yet. China and other countries are in the same starting zone.

2. Correctly grasp the strategic goals and transformation significance of developing interactive power grids

1. The information revolution and upgrade of power grid will raise my country's power production level to the high-end level of the world's new technological revolution

In 2008, the total electricity consumption in my country was nearly 3.5 trillion KW.h. If the innovation of the grid information system is realized, about 5% to 10% of the electricity resources can be saved every year, which is close to 200 billion yuan, equivalent to the construction of three nuclear power plants in Fuqing, Fujian, Fangjiashan, Zhejiang, and Yangjiang, Guangdong, which were started in 2009 with an investment of 120 billion yuan. If a larger-scale information grid transformation project is implemented, the grid system can create greater market value. Therefore, the first challenge facing energy development in the world, especially in my country, is to completely transform the traditional energy system with information technology, upgrade the traditional grid system to the level of information society, maximize the energy efficiency of the grid system, and create an innovative architecture comparable to the scale of the traditional grid system. This transformation requires us to grasp the soul of the interactive grid revolution from a high-level perspective and plan for great undertakings.

2. The fundamental purpose of China's development of interactive power grids

The development of interactive power grids in my country is to achieve a leapfrog transformation of the world's power industry, and to promote the power industry from the traditional model of low-end and mid-end power suppliers to a high-end innovative model of integrated energy, communication and information service providers. This will promote the upgrading of power infrastructure to important facilities for human innovation, production and life by loading digital devices and chip technology. The operating income and profit level of power system communication and information services are completely equal to or higher than the traditional power sales business. The power industry will achieve the most important large-scale transformation since the industrial revolution. At the same time, it will also be realized that where there are sockets, there will be energy, and where there are sockets, there will be information interaction. Consumers can be both electricity customers and small-scale electricity suppliers such as wind power, solar energy, hydrogen batteries, and biogas. This transformation will bring about a historic revolution in the way humans consume energy.

3. Eight breakthroughs in achieving China's interactive power grid surpassing strategy that is different from the European and American models

To achieve twice the result with half the effort in developing China's interactive power grid, we must promote a strategy that is different from that of Europe and the United States, and only by taking them by surprise can we win. Finding this strategic breakthrough is the commanding height of wisdom in the energy revolution of our era. I will summarize it into eight aspects:

The first is integration.

The essence of interactive power grid is to maximize the integration with innovative technologies to achieve industrialization, including the development of the combination of power industry and green transportation. For example, to develop electric vehicles, medium and low speed superconducting magnetic levitation city express, hybrid vehicles and other transportation tools, the power industry needs to construct a new industrial chain, invest in power transportation projects or establish industrial connection relationships.

The second is communication.

This requires my country to implement a technical route that is different from Europe and the United States, or even surpasses Europe and the United States, that is, to build a composite power fiber optic cable power grid. Starting from China, the world power grid should enter the era of dual networks of metal cables and composite power fiber optic cable power grids, and gradually realize the era dominated by composite power fiber optic cable power grids. The foundation of China's optical fiber industry development should become an important foundation for the development of interactive power grids.

The third is internationalization.

China needs to enter an era where it can create grid modernization standards independently, jointly, or even fund international organizations. In fact, this means that we need to enter an era of internationalization of the power system. Past crises have continuously pushed global energy commodities into an era of global pricing. This energy revolution will achieve the internationalization and regionalization of power development and trading. The more international standards are used to promote the development of interactive power grids, the more vital this revolution will be.

The fourth is to achieve the substitution and compatibility of the main energy sources.

China needs to accelerate the transformation from a traditional energy system dominated by coal to an energy system dominated by renewable energy, and our interactive power grid must be able to be compatible with this complex new energy source, such as hydropower generation, wind power generation, solar power generation, ocean power generation, and biomass raw material power generation.

The fifth is to realize the modernization and systematization of distributed energy management.

The so-called distributed energy system is a system that provides flexible, energy-saving and comprehensive services to end users. It is in great demand in rural and remote areas of China and is also the basic way for Chinese villages and towns to realize interactive power grid applications.

Sixth, realize the practical application of power energy storage technology.

Electric energy can be converted into four types of storage: physical, electromagnetic, electrochemical and phase change energy storage. Electrochemical energy storage includes lithium-ion, lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, nickel-metal hydride, sodium-sulfur and liquid flow battery energy storage, among which lithium-ion energy storage is urgently needed by the Chinese market.

Seventh, the chip technology and compatible standards for upgrading interactive power grids should be optimized.

For example: metering chips, driver chips, microprocessor chips and clock chips used in multi-rate electricity meters, power carrier modem chips required for power line communication PLC (Powerline communication) systems, and other high-frequency, high-power, intelligent and modular power semiconductor devices, as well as other chips required to realize interactive power grids.

Eighth, realize high-end system management of massive computer management systems, energy satellites and power central information management platforms.

In order to achieve real-time, two-way, trend-based safety management of the power system.

The above eight systems are not only the strategic starting point for my country to implement the interactive power grid, but also the weak point of my country's power grid modernization. They are also the strategic essence that enables us to promote the interactive power grid revolution from the commanding heights of global energy transformation.

3. Interactive Grid Beyond Strategy

1. Promote the intercontinental energy interactive network plan

Faced with the cruel competitive reality that Europe and the United States are accelerating the development of smart power grids, my country should gather all possible strength, make full use of our needs and resources, and accelerate the launch of the interactive transformation strategy of the international power grid.

We can call this plan "intercontinental energy interactive network". The framework of this plan system includes the following: based on a global grid interactive upgrade standard, the system will revolutionize the transformation of my country's interactive grid. At the same time, this system will integrate the power generation, transmission, supply and consumption industries in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and other places, and reorganize the global energy system. This system also needs to establish a system channel with the super-large and regional smart power grids in North America and the European Union to achieve global interactive integration of electric energy and vigorously promote the interconnection between systems and international power transactions. And continue to upgrade based on changes in global climate, environment, society and energy.

(II) Constructing a "power optical fiber composite cable grid" that is different from the two major power systems in Europe and the United States to change the existing mode of operation of the world's cable grid

China's large-scale energy system, which is dominated by fossil energy, does not have the foundation for a rapid transition to renewable energy. Blindly following the reform route of smart grids in Europe and the United States will make the strategic transformation of our power grid fall into the road of imitating others without success. China should implement a transcendental strategy, adopt large-scale breakthrough means to carry out the organizational revolution of the power grid, and implement the transformation strategy of one network (power grid) and multiple lines (additional optical fiber lines), that is, on the basis of the existing power lines, add two or three optical fiber cables, and solve the problem of interactive operation of the three networks of civil network, government network and military network through the model of power optical fiber composite cable grid. To this end, the optimal technical route for the modernization of my country's power grid should be clearly defined as a leapfrog and cross-industry reform method; its development goal should be clearly defined as the main body to build an interactive power grid, promote the power industry from a low-end power provider to a comprehensive energy, communication and information service provider, and realize that high-speed Internet access can be achieved wherever there is a socket. As a result, China's rural areas will directly enter the high-speed Internet in this transformation, which is also the lowest cost and the most ideal shortcut for the modernization of my country's power grid.

In the transformation strategy of my country's power grid, we should support adding two or three optical fiber cables on the basis of existing power lines to solve the problem of bundling the three networks of civil network, government network and military network into the cable line operation, and make the best use of the resources of China's power grid. This is actually an opportunity to transform my country's main power grid and realize the synthesis of multi-channel main and auxiliary cable bundling. At the same time, we can establish multi-channel shared system network management technology and central information management platform, digital substation system and intelligent terminals that meet the needs of different customers, and effectively solve the process operation of power data collection, transmission, integration, optimization and expression. In this way, my country's power grid can be delivered to the highest end of the global new technology revolution in one step, and my country's power grid can be built into a comprehensive and multi-level service network.

3. Promoting a renewable energy development strategy that is different from the European and American models

At the beginning of the Obama administration, based on the successful development of superconducting ship propulsion motors and generators by American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) for the US Navy, on February 10, 2009, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) of the US Department of Energy signed a 12-month agreement with American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) to jointly develop 10MW superconducting wind turbines.

According to the analysis of American Superconductor, a 10MW direct-drive wind turbine manufactured with traditional technology will weigh about 300 tons, while a 10MW wind turbine manufactured with superconducting technology will weigh only about 120 tons. Compared with traditional generators and gearboxes, high-temperature superconducting direct-drive wind turbine systems are smaller, lighter, and less expensive, while also having higher efficiency and reliability. It will break the bottleneck of single-machine wind power generation capacity and reduce power generation costs. It should be said that this arrangement by the United States is very worthy of our attention.

Therefore, my country should develop power generation on artificial island platforms in the ocean, replacing the operation of traditional energy systems with renewable energy. In recent years, my country's wind power has developed rapidly, and the 4 trillion revitalization plan has particularly focused on the construction of onshore wind farms. However, the obvious shortcoming of this strategy is that it has not organically combined the eastern region of my country, where electricity is mainly needed, with the offshore wind farms where wind energy is mainly concentrated. China has a coastline of nearly 20,000 kilometers and is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the world's largest ocean. It is blessed with offshore wind energy and has superior conditions to become a major country in the world in the use of offshore wind energy. To this end, my country should accelerate the investment of 15000-20000 trillion yuan, build about 3,000 offshore artificial islands in 5-10 years, and build 12,000-15,000 10-80MW high-temperature superconducting wind turbines, which is equivalent to 50-70% of China's current total power generation. At the same time, combined with comprehensive management such as underwater tidal power generation and global satellite navigation, real-time monitoring, offshore cable transmission and other systems, China should establish an innovative utilization system for renewable energy, transform the production methods of the Chinese people, and change the problem of energy transmission from northern and western my country to the east in one fell swoop. Therefore, my country's railway and highway layout system and industrial development plan should be adjusted as soon as possible.

At the same time, accelerate the formulation of innovative strategies for hydropower generation, wind power generation, solar power generation, ocean energy generation, biomass raw material power generation and transmission.